Idaho cancels execution due to repeated failed attempts at lethal injection
12:04 PM EST, February 29, 2024
On Wednesday, Idaho called off the execution of Thomas Eugene Creech, a notorious serial killer and one of the longest-standing death row prisoners in the United States, due to the medical team's consistent inability to locate a suitable vein for the intravenous line required for the lethal injection.
Five murdes acroos the state
At the age of 73, Thomas Creech has been incarcerated since 1974, with convictions for five murders across three states and suspicions of additional crimes. While serving a life sentence, he fatally assaulted a 22-year-old fellow inmate, David Dale Jensen, in 1981. It was for this particular murder that Creech was slated for execution, over forty years later
Josh Tewalt, the director of corrections, reported at a news conference that three medical team members made eight attempts to set up an IV line. They encountered difficulties accessing veins or had reservations about the quality of the veins they could access, attempting various sites including the arms, legs, hands, and feet. At one stage, one of the medical team members had to leave to collect additional supplies.
According to The Guardian, the warden announced he was halting the execution at 10.58am.
The Idaho Department of Corrections announced that its death warrant for Creech would expire and that it was evaluating future actions. Following this, Creech's lawyers swiftly submitted a motion for a stay in the US District Court, arguing "the badly botched execution attempt" proves the department’s "inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution".
"This is what happens when unknown individuals with unknown training are assigned to carry out an execution," the Federal Defender Services of Idaho said in a written statement.
Failed execution
According to The Guardian, six officials from Idaho, among them Attorney General Raul Labrador, along with four representatives from the news media, including a reporter from The Associated Press, were present to observe the attempt. This was poised to be Idaho's first execution in 12 years.
The locations for the IV insertion seemed to include the bends of his arms, his hands, areas close to his ankles, and his feet. At a certain moment, the cart containing medical supplies was positioned in front of the window through which media witnesses were observing, partially blocking their view of the medical team's attempts, reports CNN.
Source: CNN, The Guardian
