FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho — (***Note: The above video is from a previous hearing after the judge severed Vallow and Daybell's cases***)
Lori Vallow, the woman who is accused of murder and conspiracy to murder her two children and her husband Chad Daybell's former wife, Tammy Daybell, filed on Sunday to dismiss the death penalty prosecutors seek against her due to "the troubling thought" of executing a mentally ill person.
Vallow and Daybell are both charged with murder and conspiracy in the killings of Vallow's two children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, along with Daybell's ex-wife, Tammy Daybell in Fremont County. The trial was later moved to Ada County instead, due in part to intense publicity about the case in eastern Idaho.
The motion to dismiss the death penalty for Vallow says that her mental illness is known to the court, as Vallow was found incompetent in 2021 and again in 2022. In November of 2022, the court found Vallow was fit to move ahead to trial. Her attorneys state that the prosecutors called Vallow not mentally ill, but evil.
"Even if the government’s new opinion of the defendant has some believers that the defendant is just evil, we don’t kill witches anymore in America," the motion says, calling a potential execution "a troubling thought."
Vallow's attorneys also argue that media coverage surrounding the case is still ongoing, and the risk of tainting a jury pool is too great.
"Nonstop articles about the case and the rehashing of the arguments at each hearing continue to expose potential jurors to prejudice and bias against the defendant," Vallow's attorneys write.
The Idaho Legislature introduced a bill this month to reinstate the firing squad as a method of execution for death row inmates due to Idaho's lack of lethal injection chemicals. Vallow's attorney states that not only is Idaho unable to obtain the drugs, but that a firing squad as an alternative "will never happen."
"Moral decency certainly can’t accept the thought of marching a blindfolded mentally-ill woman in front of a firing squad," the motion says. Additionally, the defense claims the government has violated multiple discovery requests, saying that if discovery failures are found, the case will be vacated.
Daybell previously waived his right to a speedy trial, while Vallow did not. Daybell's defense has repeatedly pushed for more time to prepare. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Vallow's defense filed a motion to dismiss her case for lack of a speedy trial, which was denied.
A judge later severed the couple's cases on March 2, even though they both were scheduled to stand trial together on April 3. Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce agreed to postpone Daybell's trial, which will be rescheduled at a later date.
In Vallow's trial, the public will be allowed to attend through reserved seating, as well as an overflow viewing room for those who cannot find space in the courtroom.
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