Prosecutors in Idaho have said they plan to seek the death penalty for Andrea Shaw, a woman who has been charged with murdering her toddler twins.
Payette County prosecutors said in an Oct. 16 court filing prior to the deadline to file such a notice that Shaw committed multiple murders and that they were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity.”
Shaw will “probably constitute a continuing threat to society” if not put to death, the prosecutors also said.
Shaw, who has pleaded not guilty, was charged over the summer in the 2025 deaths of her 18-month-old twins. Charging documents said Shaw suffocated her children.
Shaw is the lead plaintiff in a federal case against the American Academy of Pediatrics. The case accuses the group of violating the law by promoting vaccines as safe while taking donations from vaccine manufacturers.
The twins died eight days after receiving three vaccines each, according to court documents, and Shaw has said the deaths were caused by the shots.
Experts ruled out vaccines as a cause of death, prosecutors said in a previous filing.
Children’s Health Defense, which says Shaw is innocent, condemned the move to seek the death penalty.
“There’s no basis that we are aware of that would suggest that she is of any threat to society, nor do we think that there’s any basis to assert that she murdered her children as she has claimed,” Mary Holland, the organization’s CEO, said in a statement. “We believe strongly that she is not guilty.”
Rick Jaffe, a lawyer representing Shaw, told The Epoch Times that the notice was not a surprise because prosecutors and the defense had communicated about the possibility, and because Shaw has declined to agree to a plea deal.
“I think it’s not an unusual tactic for a state to up the ante,” he said.
He added later, “It’s just one of the tools the prosecution has to force a settlement … whether that’s justified or not.”
