Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
American serial killer Thomas Creech had already been serving a life sentence in 1981 when he beat a 22-year-old fellow inmate, David Jensen, to death. He is now 73 years old and has been in prison for over half a century. On February 28, 2024, the medical team tried to execute him by giving a lethal injection at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. However, AP News reported that the execution was halted after repeated attempts by the team to inject him.
Three of the medical team members reportedly attempted to establish IV about eight times. They reportedly tried to access his veins through the hands, arms, feet, and legs. However, they either failed because of inappropriate vein quality or because of a lack of clear access to the vein. Per the outlet, Thomas Creech was wheeled into the execution chamber at 10 a.m. The execution was called off by the warden at 10:58 a.m.
Each attempt to inject the IV included cleaning the skin with alcohol and injecting a numbing solution. It was followed by cleaning the skin once again and finally attempting to place the IV catheter. The attempts took several minutes each, and each of the medical experts palpated the skin to try and position the insertion of the needles. AP News reported that the convict repeatedly looked at his family and representative, who were seated in a separate witness room to spectate the execution.
Following this, Thomas Creech’s attorneys filed for a stay at the U.S. District Court almost immediately after the execution was called off. His attorneys argued that “the badly botched execution attempt” by the medical team lacked the ability to carry out a humane execution. As such, the state of Idaho could not legally try to execute him again before his death warrant expired. In order to execute him, they will have to obtain another death warrant from the court.
The outlet further noted that it was Idaho’s first execution in 12 years. According to the corrections department, the execution team was only comprised of volunteers.
What was Thomas Creech convicted of?
Thomas Creech is one of the country’s longest-serving death row inmates. He was initially convicted of five murders in three states. Three of them were in Idaho. However, he claimed to have killed at least 40 people during his trial in 1975. Recently, he was connected to a decades-old case in San Bernardino County. It included the killing of Daniel Walker on the morning of October 1, 1974, when Walker was parked in his van. A killer allegedly opened fire on him and a passenger in the van, according to CBS News.
Although Walker was wounded, he soon managed to find help from another driver nearby. The victim was then rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The case went cold after investigators could not find any helpful leads relating to the murder. However, in November 2023, the SBCSD Cold Case Team claimed that they identified the killer as Thomas Creech, who was awaiting his execution on death row by then.
The five murders that he was initially convicted of led to Thomas Creech being sentenced to life in prison. In 1981, he bludgeoned David Jensen, who was disabled, with a sock full of batteries, leading to his death. At that time, he was serving two life terms for a double murder in Idaho and other murders in California and Oregon, ABC News reported. He then pleaded guilty to the murder of Jensen and was given the death penalty. The prison guards and nurses reportedly appealed to put a stay on Creech’s sentence owing to his politeness and good behavior behind bars.
