The death penalty—also known as capital punishment—refers to the process of state and federal courts sentencing persons convicted of the most serious criminal offenses (capital offenses or capital crimes) to death. The specific crimes and circumstances for which the death penalty is a potential punishment (usually murder) are defined by state and federal statutes enacted by state legislatures and the United States Congress, respectively.

These death penalty or capital punishment statutes are often located in the penal or criminal code, and often in the same statute that defines a criminal offense such as murder. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty as a potential punishment for any criminal offense.

In Idaho, the death penalty is a legal form of punishment for certain capital offenses, primarily for aggravated murder. The statutes governing capital punishment are found in the Idaho Code, particularly under Title 18 (Crimes and Punishments), Chapter 40 (Homicide), and Chapter 4 (Penal Code). Idaho's death penalty statutes specify the aggravating circumstances that can lead to a death sentence, such as murders committed during a kidnapping, rape, robbery, or acts of terrorism, among others. The method of execution in Idaho is lethal injection. It is important to note that the application of the death penalty is subject to constitutional constraints, and defendants facing capital punishment have the right to extensive due process protections, including appeals. As of the knowledge cutoff date in 2023, Idaho remains one of the states that still impose the death penalty, while 22 states and the District of Columbia have abolished it.