State of Idaho schedules death row inmate Thomas Creech’s execution for Nov. 13

Thomas Creech has been on death row since 1983 for the beating death of fellow inmate David Jensen in 1981. (Courtesy of Christine Hanley/Federal Defender Services of Idaho)

Correction officials in Idaho served death row inmate Thomas Creech on Wednesday with a death warrant scheduling his execution for Nov. 13, the Idaho Department of Correction announced in a news release on Wednesday.

Creech was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Feb. 28, but Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt halted Creech’s execution after the medical team was unable to establish an IV line to administer the lethal injection chemicals, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported .

Correction officials handed Creech the new death warrant on Wednesday less than 24 hours after state officials announced crews renovated the F Block unit at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise to create a new execution preparation room .

Creech is again scheduled to be executed by lethal injection, correction officials said. Tewalt will sign an affidavit certifying that the Department of Correction has obtained the chemical or chemicals necessary to carry out a lethal injection, Idaho Department of Correction officials said Wednesday.

Idaho Department of Correction officials declined additional comment, citing ongoing litigation.

In a written statement, Federal Defender Services of Idaho said Idaho is seeking to become the first state to attempt to use lethal injection a second time on the same inmate after failing the first time.

“We are heartbroken and angered that Idaho would try again to execute Thomas Creech using virtually the same process and team of executioners, and before conducting any official review of what led to the botched attempt to take his life earlier this year,” Deborah A. Czuba, supervising attorney for the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender Services of Idaho, said in a written statement.

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State of Idaho renovations create execution preparation room

The state’s new execution preparation room provides a space where the medical team can work to establish an alternative central line to administer lethal injection chemicals if the team cannot establish peripheral IV access, which is what happened with Creech in February. The execution preparation room is a separate room from the execution chamber where witnesses assemble, state officials said Tuesday.

Idaho Department of Correction creates execution preparation room after failed lethal injection

Under new Idaho execution procedures announced Tuesday, the condemned inmate will first be led into the execution preparation room for the team to determine if it can establish peripheral IV access. If not, the medical team will establish a central line. Once an IV line is established, the inmate will be led to the execution chamber.

State officials said Tuesday that a live audio and video feed from the execution preparation room will be available to witnesses throughout the entire time an inmate is in the execution preparation room.

The renovations to create the new execution preparation room did not include construction of a new secure facility necessary to carry out an execution by firing squad, which the Idaho Legislature added as an alternative method of execution in 2023. A public information officer said Tuesday it would cost an estimated $952,589 to create a secure facility necessary to carry out an execution by firing squad.

Including Creech, there are nine inmates serving on death row in Idaho, state records show. The state of Idaho has not executed anyone in more than 12 years, since Richard Leavitt was executed by lethal injection in 2012.

Creech, 74, was convicted of killing five people, according to Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s office and the Idaho Department of Correction. Creech received a death penalty sentence in January 1983 after beating a fellow inmate to death in Ada County, according to the Idaho Department of Correction.

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