Defender: Seeking death penalty a financial move

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams will argue next week in district court that prosecutors were motivated by financial reasons to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore.

Jonathan Renfro, 28, allegedly admitted to shooting Moore in a Coeur d'Alene neighborhood on May 15, 2015, and the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office filed paperwork in court last January stating its intention to ask for the death penalty. Adams, in multiple legal briefs filed in Kootenai County District Court, alleges the decision to pursue capital punishment was motivated by financial reasons, since the state has a fund set up to help reduce trial costs in counties trying such cases.

Idaho's Capital Crimes Defense Fund was established by the state Legislature in 1998 and allows counties to dip into a statewide fund to recoup some of the costs associated with death penalty trials, primarily through the reimbursement of wages paid to attorneys on the case. Every county, with the exception of Jefferson County, participates in the voluntary program, and a 2013 study by the Idaho Legislature found 11 counties have been reimbursed more than $4 million since 1998.

"...The existence of the CCDF permits this court to find that there is a clear financial benefit to the county when it pursues the death penalty," Adams wrote in a brief filed Aug. 5. "As to the interest of the taxpayer, first, the prosecutor's duty is to the county, not the taxpayer, and second, clearly spreading the cost of a death penalty case over the entire population of Idaho lessens the burden upon taxpayers in Kootenai County considerably."

However, the county prosecutor's office has filed multiple briefs in opposition to Adams' motion asking the court to preclude the death penalty from Renfro's potential punishments. In a brief published on July 27, Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor David Robins wrote there is no evidence to prove Adams' assertions, which Robins called "unsound fabrications."

"From the defendant's slanted argument, he would have this honorable court believe he is a victim of some unfeeling financial calculus, meting out life and death based on financial considerations alone," Robins wrote. "He is no such victim. He is the perpetrator of an extraordinarily callous and cold-blooded murder. The defendant's eligibility for capital sentencing is not the product of financial concern — rather, his eligibility is the product of Idaho law, his actions, his reprehensible history of violence, the brutal nature of his crime, and the goals of justice."

Adams, according to court briefs, will argue the additional funding provided by the CCDF is a violation of Renfro's rights under the Eighth Ammendment because it brings in a factor other than the incident itself for prosecutors to consider when pursuing punishment.

"The prosecutor's quandary is not his fault but that of the state Legislature in creating a moral hazard by financially incentivizing death," Adams wrote.

Renfro is charged with first-degree murder, grand theft, removing a law-enforcement officer's firearm, concealing evidence, robbery and eluding police.

Moore had stopped Renfro in the middle of the night as he walked down the sidewalk of the neighborhood, an area targeted by car prowlers at the time. Moore reportedly called in Renfro's driver's license information over the radio shortly before the shooting. Renfro is also accused of stealing Moore's gun and patrol car after the shooting.

On Aug. 31, Kootenai County District Court Judge Lansing Haynes will hear both sides of the argument and make a determination as to whether prosecutors will be allowed to pursue the death penalty. All three Kootenai County commissioners, County Treasurer Steve Matheson, and County Clerk Jim Brannon were issued subpoenas requiring them to be present at the hearing.

"You are further commanded to provide the following documentary information and evidence on the date and time as indicated above: Documentation of funding and budgeting for capital cases in general for the past 3 years and for the prosecution of the Renfro case from its inception," the subpoena states.

Adams is also prepared to challenge, at the same hearing, the constitutionality of what he calls "Idaho's death penalty scheme."