IDAHO — The Idaho Department of Correction is suspending preparations for the execution of inmate Gerald Pizzuto.
Pizzuto was scheduled for execution on December 15th.
In a statement released Wednesday, IDOC Director Josh Tewalt said he does not think the state will be able to secure the chemicals necessary to carry out the execution, and said he believed the death warrant should be allowed to expire.
This is the fourth time Pizzuto will bypass a death warrant, including the second this year.
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“While our efforts to secure chemicals remain ongoing, I have no reason to believe our status will change prior to the scheduled execution on December 15, 2022,” Director Tewalt said.
Pizzuto was convicted of murdering two Idahoans at a remote Idaho county cabin in 1985. Last week, Pizzuto, who is confined to a wheelchair with terminal bladder cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, asked a federal court to block the execution.
Pizzuto is one of eight people on Idaho's death row.
