Idaho Senate sends firing squad bill to governor
The firing squad is steps away from becoming Idaho’s primary execution method.
State senators passed the bill after a short debate Wednesday, with one Republican joining six Democrats in opposing it.
Right now, the firing squad is Idaho's secondary method of execution if state corrections officials can't obtain drugs to carry out a lethal injection.
Idaho has had trouble executing its death row inmates in recent years.
That includes an attempt last year to kill Thomas Creech. Corrections staff failed to find a suitable vein after eight tries.
Sen. Brian Lenney (R-Nampa) said opponents calling the firing squad barbaric should closely look at crimes committed by death row inmates, like Creech.
“He killed at least [five people] that we know of, according to his own words, possibly up to 42 people. One of them he beat to death with a sock full of batteries,” Lenney said.
Turning away from the lethal injection method, Lenney and other supporters said, would avoid lengthy legal appeals that can currently span decades.
He said the firing squad is also a more humane way to execute an inmate.
“With a [.30 caliber] rifle bullet traveling somewhere around 3,000 feet per second, the death is instantaneous and, in this case, I think it’s an act of mercy.”
Sen. Dan Foreman (R-Viola), a retired police officer, said he believes the state “is on the verge of making a big mistake.”
“Projecting a piece of metal at 3,200 feet per second, give or take, through the human body is anything but humane,” said Foreman. “I can say that because I’ve seen it. I wished I hadn’t seen it.”
House lawmakers passed the same bill nearly one month ago.
The Idaho Department of Correction has yet to build a facility where it could stage executions via firing squad. Legislators budgeted $750,000 for the project two years ago.
Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), another of the bill’s sponsors, said IDOC would likely need more money to construct the facility, but said the agency could cover that gap within its existing budget.
The governor will have until next week to make a decision on the bill.
Bill to limit guns in more public places clears Washington Senate
The Washington Senate has approved a bill that adds to the list of public places where people may not carry guns.
The legislation, sponsored by Seattle Democrat Javier Valdez, adds public parks where children are likely to be playing, including playgrounds, sports fields and beaches. It also adds county fairs and state or local public buildings where people regularly work.
“Gun-free zones improve public safety, Mr. President. The research has shown that states with more permissive firearm laws experience higher crime rates, 13%-to-15% higher over the last decade," he said.
The bill also requires the owners of those facilities to put up signs letting people know that firearms are not allowed. Sen. Jeff Holy (R-Spokane) says it’s an idea that’s not likely to work.
“Asking us to believe that the people that we don’t want to have guns will be in those locations will honor a sign or honor a law, I think we have been battle hardened enough, all of us at this point, to realize that’s not the case," he said.
The bill passed 28-21, with two Democrats joining Republicans in voting no. It now moves to the state House.
ID considers pulling out of physician education partnership
Idaho could unravel itself more slowly from its current physician education partnership under a new bill introduced Wednesday.
The new plan from Rep. Dustin Manwaring (R-Pocatello) would create 30 new seats with University of Utah’s medical school over the next three years.
Beginning in the fall of 2027, Idaho would cut at least 10 guaranteed seats enrolled in the WWAMI program. It currently has 40 guaranteed spots for Idaho residents.
WWAMI is a partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine and states around the Northwest region.
Students enrolled in WWAMI take their first two years of medical education at the University of Idaho. They then transition to hospitals or clinics across the five partner states for their final two years of education.
Manwaring’s bill would also direct the state board of education to draft a new medical education roadmap.
“So, we may have room to keep some of that WWAMI program and I’m trying to give a path for the [Idaho State Board of Education] to do that,” he said.
Rep. Mark Sauter (R-Sandpoint) was the only lawmaker to vote against the bill’s introduction. He said the bill puts the cart before the horse.
“I have some real questions about really messing with the WWAMI program at all until we get some traction on a future program,” Sauter said.
Manwaring said WWAMI’s leadership has failed to expand Idaho’s guaranteed seats in recent years to address the state’s physician shortage.
Another bill he sponsors would completely sever ties with the WWAMI program, but the House has repeatedly postponed debate on the issue.
Manwaring’s new proposal still needs a public hearing before it can reach the House floor.
WDFW looks to track, eliminate disease carriers in wild sheep herds
Washington fish and wildlife researchers have been busy tracking down bighorn sheep in the central portion of state.
They’re testing for bacteria that causes pneumonia.
The process involves utilizing a helicopter to deploy a net to capture individual animals, then researchers take blood samples and attach radio collars for tracking purposes.
They are looking for sheep that might be carrying the disease even though they are healthy.
Biologist William Moore explained some survivors of an infected herd can actually become a threat in the future:
"A certain portion of those adults typically become what we call chronic carriers, meaning the pathogen resides in their system," Moore told SPR News. "They have the ability to transmit that pathogen to others, and typically 5 to 15% are chronic carriers.”
Moore says the overall goal is to test as many animals as possible in two herds located in Yakima canyon and one to the west of Naches, around 265 sheep.
Eventually researchers will go back to remove and destroy the bacterial carriers. In the most recent effort, 50 animals were captured.
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Reporting contributed by James Dawson, Doug Nadvornick and Steve Jackson.