A federal judge in Boise, Idaho, has temporarily halted the execution of Thomas Eugene Creech, a man on death row whose first lethal injection attempt was botched earlier this year. Creech was scheduled to be executed on Nov. 13, nine months after the failed attempt to execute him. The execution team struggled to find a viable vein to administer the lethal drug during the initial attempt on Feb. 28.
U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow issued the stay to allow time to consider Creech’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct during his clemency hearing. Creech’s defense team is also pursuing other legal avenues to prevent his execution.
The Idaho Department of Correction has suspended execution preparations and returned Creech to his previous housing assignment. The department has refrained from commenting on the postponement due to the ongoing lawsuit.
Creech, 74, is the longest-serving person on death row in Idaho, having been in prison for five decades. He was convicted of multiple murders in three states and is suspected of additional crimes. His most recent conviction was for the 1981 beating death of 22-year-old David Dale Jensen while in prison.
Despite his violent past, Creech has developed a reputation for good behavior and even writes poetry. The failed execution attempt prompted the Idaho Department of Correction to implement new protocols for lethal injection procedures involving central venous catheters when peripheral IV lines cannot be placed.
By Rebecca Boone
