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Idaho Supreme Court rejects age-related death row appeal

Posted at 2:21 PM, Jul 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-08 16:21:09-04

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a man who says he was too young to be sent to death row after he killed two people at the age of 19.

James Harvey Hairston was sentenced to death in 1996 in connection with the shooting deaths of an elderly couple. Prosecutors said William and Dalma Fuhriman, both 72, were killed during a burglary at their rural farmhouse.

The Idaho Supreme Court unanimously rejected Hairston’s appeal on Monday, noting that while people under the age of 18 can’t be sentenced to capital punishment the U.S. has no such prohibition for older defendants.