KUNA, Idaho (AP) — For nearly an hour, thomas eugene creech As he lay strapped to a table in an execution chamber in Idaho, a medical team poked and prodded his arms, legs, hands and feet, trying to find a vein that could end his life.
After eight attempts Wednesday, prison wardens told them to give up. After half a century in prison, 73-year-old serial killer Creech has been returned to solitary confinement, but no one knows how long he was in prison.
The failed lethal injection was the latest incident. A series of difficulties States have carried out such executions since Texas first used the method in 1982.
Here's what you need to know about Creech's case and what's to come.
what happened?
Creech, that one longest serving death row inmate US inmates ate fried chicken and gravy as their final meal Tuesday night. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, he was carried on a stretcher to the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institute, where he was sentenced to 15 years on disability while serving a sentence for one of his crimes: car theft in 1981. He was to beat his fellow inmates to death.
Three medical team members tried eight times to install the IV, said Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewald. In some cases, veins were not accessible, and in other cases, veins were accessible but there were concerns about the quality of the veins.
At one point, members of the medical team left to gather more supplies. The director announced at 10:58 a.m. that operations would be suspended.
It's unclear why they got into trouble. Many factors can affect venous accessibility, including dehydration, stress, room temperature, and physical characteristics. Creech's lawyer said he suffers from several medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and edema. These diseases can affect circulation and venous access.
Medical experts also say that a professional's experience inserting an IV line can help determine whether the procedure was successful.
The execution team was made up entirely of volunteers, and according to Idaho execution procedures, they were required to have at least three years of medical experience, including as a paramedic. They are not necessarily doctors, and they famously take an oath to “do no harm.”
The identities and qualifications of the medical team members were kept confidential. They concealed themselves by wearing white balaclava-style face coverings and navy scrub caps.
What's next for Creech?
Creech's death warrant, issued by 4th Judicial District Judge Jason Scott, states the execution must be carried out by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. After the morning execution failed, his lawyers hastily filed a new stay of execution application in federal court before the state could retry the case, calling it an “execution attempt that went horribly wrong.” He said the ministry had “demonstrated its inability to carry out the death penalty in a humane manner.” It is a constitutional death penalty. ”
Corrections Director Tewalt quickly announced that the state would not retry the case Wednesday, and the death warrant had expired. If a state wants to carry out the death penalty, it must obtain another one.
“I don't have any deadlines or next steps in mind at this point,” Tewald said at a news conference.
Mr Creech's lawyers were prepared to continue fighting for his life. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected their final appeal Wednesday morning.
“This is what happens when an unknown, trained individual is assigned to carry out an execution,” the Idaho Department of Defense said in a written statement.
Robert Weisberg, a law professor and co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said it is unlikely that Creech will be able to convince the Supreme Court justices that a second execution is cruel and unusual punishment. The court ruled in 1947 that Louisiana could try to execute prisoners again after the electric chair malfunctioned.
Mr. Creech's lawyers may argue that Mr. Creech has a medical condition that makes it impossible to execute him by lethal injection and that further attempts would amount to torture, Mr. Weisberg said.
Does Idaho have other options?
In recent years, many pharmaceutical companies have restricted the sale of drugs used in executions, making access difficult for states seeking to carry out executions. In 2012, before the last execution in Idaho, Tewalt and his colleagues, who were not yet corrections chiefs, flew to Tacoma, Wash., with more than $15,000 in cash to buy drugs from a pharmacist.
The trip first came to light after University of Idaho professor Aliza Cover filed a successful lawsuit seeking the information under the state's public records law.
Against this backdrop, the Idaho Legislature passed a law allowing execution by firing squad when lethal injection is not available. Prison officials have not yet developed standard operating policies regarding the use of firing squads, nor have they constructed facilities where firing squad executions will be performed. Both would need to happen before the state would try to apply the new law, which could likely raise some legal challenges.
Lawmakers also dramatically strengthened secrecy about how states obtain lethal injection drugs and the people and companies involved in supplying them. The law requires the identities of execution team members to be kept secret and prohibits state professional licensing boards from taking disciplinary action against anyone who participates in an execution.
“It's very difficult to know what went wrong here,” said Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “To me, this is the best argument against the Secrecy Act.”
Creech's attorneys argued that the state of Idaho violated Creech's rights by not disclosing where he obtained the drugs he was scheduled to use Wednesday.
What happened in other states?
Lethal injection is the primary method of execution for the federal government and the 27 states that have the death penalty, including those that currently have moratoriums on executions. But there are also some notable examples of failed efforts.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey suspended executions for several months to conduct an internal investigation after authorities stopped administering a lethal injection to Kenneth Eugene Smith in November 2022. This is the third time since 2018 that Alabama has been unable to carry out an execution due to problems with IV lines.
january smith became the first person Execution using nitrogen gas. During his execution, he trembled and convulsed for several minutes on a stretcher in the death chamber. Execution by nitrogen hypoxia is not permitted in Idaho.
In 2014, Oklahoma state officials attempted to: stop lethal injection when prisoner Clayton Lockett began to struggle after being declared unconscious. He died 43 minutes later.Reviews found his IV line came loose.
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Johnson reported from Seattle.