The execution of Idaho's longest-serving death row inmate, Thomas Creech, was delayed after officials failed to establish an IV line for the lethal injection. Creech, 73, has been in prison since 1974 and was sentenced to die for the 1981 fatal beating of a fellow inmate. This botched procedure is the latest example of a state struggling to perform the fatal procedure, with Alabama also facing issues with lethal injections.
Idaho's first attempted execution in over a decade was halted after multiple failed attempts to tap into the inmate's veins for lethal injection. Thomas Eugene Creech, 73, was returned to his cell as his death warrant was set to expire. The botched execution has renewed scrutiny of lethal injection as a method of capital punishment, with some states considering alternatives such as nitrogen gas and firing squads. Creech's lawyers filed a motion to halt further execution attempts and criticized the Idaho Department of Correction for the failure. Creech was convicted of multiple murders and has been in prison for 50 years.
