Idaho Tries 8 Times to Execute Prisoner

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

On Wednesday, 73 year old convicted murderer Thomas Creech was scheduled to be executed at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. After the medical team spent almost an hour trying eight times to establish an IV (in 8 different spots on his body), the formal announcement was made that the execution was being halted.

Sources (no paywalls, but might have to turn off adblocker):

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/28/idaho-execution-stopped-vein-lethal-injection

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/thomas-creech-to-be-executed-today/277-ae66cb64-e85e-44ac-ad8f-0e2135085055

(that one has helpful time-lines)

https://www.ktvb.com/video/features/producers-picks/ktvbs-brenda-rodriguez-shares-what-she-saw-during-the-successful-execution-of-thomas-creech/277-ed4e1703-7d3e-4ba5-892f-a8b298b03483

(Video of a reporter who was a witness.)

I wanted to pull up some quotes, but I just had something urgent pop up. Sorry. 

[noseybutt]

In most states licensed healthcare professionals cannot participate in executions without risk of losing their license and/or incurring legal charges. This means the "medical teams" consist of people who are either untrained or have lost their licenses due to malpractice.

Edited March 2 by noseybutt

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

Thanks. I didn't know that, @noseybutt. 

I guess that could explain why the director of the state corrections department pointed out that the "medical team" demonstrated their ability to start an IV on the director and his staff. I think I would have been home "sick" that day.

I guess at least they didn't try to administer the pentobarbitol the times that they were able to get in a vein, but didn't think it was a good enough vein to push the drug.

(From the middle link above:)

Quote

Tewalt [the director of the Idaho Department of Corrections] said in a statement that the medical team assigned to execute Creech had extensive, sufficient training, even practicing establishing an IV on Tewalt himself.

"What they [medical team] encountered was an access issue...they were not confident in their abilities to enter the chemicals through the IV site," Tewalt stated. "I think it would be wrong to call it a failure. They did their best; they did the right thing in stopping their efforts. It was not only an access issue, but a quality issue."

I don't agree with the death penalty. I hope the state allows Creech to live out the rest of his life in prison. But I do question this part of what his attorneys said:

Quote

My bold

Unfortunately, what is absurd is Idaho’s continuing efforts to kill this harmless old man, who by this point surely has suffered enough.

I guess I have doubts that someone convicted of at least 5 murders (3 in Idaho, 2 in Oregon, I believe) is harmless, even at his age. 

I may have more to add later.

[SoSoNosy]

I wonder if he was dehydrated; I have tiny veins that like to roll, and any time I'm going to need an IV they tell me to drink a lot of water beforehand.   And I wonder how much experience the medical team really had, since licensed health care providers would naturally be hesitant.  

[noseybutt]

19 minutes ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Thanks. I didn't know that, @noseybutt. 

I guess that could explain why the director of the state corrections department pointed out that the "medical team" demonstrated their ability to start an IV on the director and his staff. I think I would have been home "sick" that day.

I guess at least they didn't try to administer the pentobarbitol the times that they were able to get in a vein, but didn't think it was a good enough vein to push the drug.

(From the middle link above:)

I don't agree with the death penalty. I hope the state allows Creech to live out the rest of his life in prison. But I do question this part of what his attorneys said:

I guess I have doubts that someone convicted of at least 5 murders (3 in Idaho, 2 in Oregon, I believe) is harmless, even at his age. 

I may have more to add later.

Good defense attorneys have the art of hyperbole well mastered, and I too would take issue with the adjective "harmless." From a risk assessment perspective, death row inmates are not at increased risk of violence within the institution as compared to other violent offenders. But that doesn't mean they are risk free, and especially when predicting how they might behave in the free world.

One aspect of the death penalty that has not received much attention is the impact that it has on prisoners and the correctional employees. Anecdotally, it's awful. Most of the institutions will go into lock-down around the time of an execution and for some hours after as a precaution because it's unsettling. It's out of sorts. There have been journalists who have tracked the trauma on the employees, and that piece is disturbing because there is very rarely any treatment available.

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

1 hour ago, SoSoNosy said:

I wonder if he was dehydrated; I have tiny veins that like to roll, and any time I'm going to need an IV they tell me to drink a lot of water beforehand. 

When the director of the IDOC (Idaho Department of Corrections) was answering questions from legislators, that possibility was raised.

From Idaho Public Television--

https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2024/02/29/legislators-question-idoc-director-about-failed-execution/

Quote

(My bold)

Rep. Chris Allgood, R-Caldwell, asked Tewalt if Creech did anything to make it harder for the team. 

“That’s inconsistent with our experience with him, particularly in the last week or two,” Tewalt said. 

Creech was under 24-hour a day direct supervision, Tewalt explained, adding he had no reason to believe he tried to stop the medical team by purposely dehydrating himself or taking other measures that would make it harder to establish an IV line. Tewalt’s statement is consistent with a Wednesday morning statement from IDOC saying Creech remained cooperative in the hours leading up to his scheduled execution.

I know people who also have veins that are tricky to access. I think aging can sometimes make it harder, too.

There are some other gems in that article, but my phone keeps erasing things I add to this post. I'll make separate posts.

Edited March 2 by WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?
Riffle and put link back in

[47of74]

9 minutes ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I know people who also have veins that are tricky to access. I think aging can sometimes make it harder, too..

Yeah, mine like to run and hide when it comes to IVs.  With me it's been a struggle sometimes for medical professionals to find a good IV site.  More than once they've had to try multiple sites.  One time after a bike accident I had to spend a couple days in the hospital and neither of my arms worked so they wound up going in through my hand.  

[Expectopatronus]

I would love to see the death penalty abolished worldwide. I absolutely hate the idea that anyone has the right to take a life. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

Just now, 47of74 said:

Yeah, mine like to run and hide when it comes to IVs.  With me it's been a struggle sometimes for medical professionals to find a good IV site.  More than once they've had to try multiple sites.  One time after a bike accident I had to spend a couple days in the hospital and neither of my arms worked so they wound up going in through my hand.  

Yeah, one of my siblings used to have a "map" of how to access their vein on file at the doctor's office. And OUCH to IV access from the hand! I hate that.

One of Idaho’s stupidest right-wing-nutjob representatives tried blaming liberals/Democrats/reasonable human beings. (From the above IPTV link)

Quote

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, asked Tewalt if there was a chance that his team intentionally couldn’t find a vein. 

“Could politics be involved in the reason this did not happen?” Scott asked. 

Tewalt said some members on Thursday’s team participated in the executions of Paul Rhoades and Richard Leavitt in 2011 and 2012, and reiterated his trust in the medical team. 

But from that, we find out that some members of the "medical team" have recent experience with executing prisoners in Idaho.

[47of74]

3 minutes ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Yeah, one of my siblings used to have a "map" of how to access their vein on file at the doctor's office. And OUCH to IV access from the hand! I hate that.

I remember my VSG surgery they tried my left arm before moving to my right arm because of my ever elusive veins.  And how when they took my BP I was so anxious they told me to try relaxing for a while before coming back to take it again.  Some times when I need to have IVs put it they can do the usual taps to bring the vein up to surface but other times they have to resort to going to other sites. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

The death penalty has become so time consuming, so expensive, so problematic in the US that it just needs to go. It’s not even a matter of whether you believe it’s right or wrong anymore. It’s just become a fucking circus. And that’s reason enough for me to think it needs to be gone at least in the US. 

[47of74]

4 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

The death penalty has become so time consuming, so expensive, so problematic in the US that it just needs to go. It’s not even a matter of whether you believe it’s right or wrong anymore. It’s just become a fucking circus. And that’s reason enough for me to think it needs to be gone at least in the US. 

Personally, in most cases I think that 5000 year sentences are far more of a punishment than death.  If a person is executed is that really a punishment or an early release?  I said 5000 years because I'd want to be sure the person ain't getting paroled in their lifetime.

In some cases I think there are some people so dangerous, people who are a very threat to the survival of our country and the planet that the death penalty is appropriate after a trial and a finding that such people are guilty.  Included are people who are convicted of treason or war crimes.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

15 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

It’s not even a matter of whether you believe it’s right or wrong anymore. It’s just become a fucking circus. And that’s reason enough for me to think it needs to be gone at least in the US. 

And it's also gotten increasingly sketchy. Idaho won't let anyone know where they got the pentobarbitol. Who knows what kind of quality control was used by whatever the anonymous source was.

The Idaho legislature authorized using a firing squad, and last year they set aside money to build a facility for that.

Quote

Committee members also asked about using the firing squad as a backup execution method. In addition to adding the firing squad as a secondary option for execution if lethal injection chemicals aren’t available, the 2023 legislature appropriated $850,000 in funding to build a firing squad location. IDOC has not yet begun construction.  

We get this terrifying bit.

Quote

(My bold)

Rep. Kenny Wroten, R-Nampa, asked Tewalt about using a mechanized gun, rather than actual humans to pull a trigger during a firing squad execution. Tewalt said IDOC has considered that possibility. 

I hate to think of all the ways that could go wrong.

35 minutes ago, Expectopatronus said:

I would love to see the death penalty abolished worldwide. I absolutely hate the idea that anyone has the right to take a life. 

I really, really agree.

[47of74]

2 hours ago, noseybutt said:

Good defense attorneys have the art of hyperbole well mastered, and I too would take issue with the adjective "harmless." From a risk assessment perspective, death row inmates are not at increased risk of violence within the institution as compared to other violent offenders. But that doesn't mean they are risk free, and especially when predicting how they might behave in the free world.
 

Good defense attorneys are zealously advocating for their clients even though in most cases it's a lost cause given how carefully evidence is collected/recorded now.  The best a lot of defense attorneys can do now is get the best possible plea deal for their clients.  (Or in the case of sovereign citizens who want to represent themselves just sit back and watch them self destruct). 

Even if they at the end of the day seem a bit hyperbolic attorneys still have a duty to their clients to do all they can regardless of how they personally feel.  (Something which is hammered into everyone in law school).   Personally, I don't want to do criminal law on either side - especially public criminal defense - but if I have to that's what I would do if nothing else pans out job wise once I get that fucking bar exam out of the way.  I'm actually more interested in transactional work where I'm not in court all that often if ever.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

That's a good reminder, @47of74. I may disbelieve things defense attorneys say sometimes, but I'm glad we have a system where everyone is entitled to a vigorous defense. 

3 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

...even though in most cases it's a lost cause given how carefully evidence is collected/recorded now. 

I do wonder how well evidence was collected back in 1974 to 1981, when Creech committed the 5 murders he was convicted for. There certainly has been enough time since 1981 to review the evidence from the murder of Creech's fellow prisoner, David Dale Jensen. 

Anyway, this article has a good overview of how we got from the early 1970s to Wednesday. 

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/how-did-we-get-here-creech-timeline/277-48b03989-4a55-4da2-8fb7-458b25dfebb7

[klein_roeschen]

On 3/2/2024 at 4:06 AM, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

And it's also gotten increasingly sketchy. Idaho won't let anyone know where they got the pentobarbitol. Who knows what kind of quality control was used by whatever the anonymous source was.

The Idaho legislature authorized using a firing squad, and last year they set aside money to build a facility for that.

We get this terrifying bit.

I hate to think of all the ways that could go wrong.

I really, really agree.

Thanks to the method of executing people with drugs, some pharma companies don't deliver either in the US or at wholesalers who sell to prisons. That's why they have to get drugs like pentobarbital from questionable sources. The cynic in me thinks that with all that gone wrong in the last years at executions, the soviets bullet in the neck method would be more humane because instant death. But they could also get rid of capital punishments, spending the rest of your life in prison without parole is a very sufficient punishment. Because punishing a murderer by well murdering them, there is no higher ground to stand on.

[sixcatatty]

On 3/1/2024 at 7:43 PM, noseybutt said:

Good defense attorneys have the art of hyperbole well mastered, and I too would take issue with the adjective "harmless." From a risk assessment perspective, death row inmates are not at increased risk of violence within the institution as compared to other violent offenders. But that doesn't mean they are risk free, and especially when predicting how they might behave in the free world.

One aspect of the death penalty that has not received much attention is the impact that it has on prisoners and the correctional employees. Anecdotally, it's awful. Most of the institutions will go into lock-down around the time of an execution and for some hours after as a precaution because it's unsettling. It's out of sorts. There have been journalists who have tracked the trauma on the employees, and that piece is disturbing because there is very rarely any treatment available.

 

I did death penalty post-conviction work as a defense paralegal and attorney. Harmless is not a word I would have used. I am absolutely and always against the death penalty; I am also not so naive as not to believe that most folk on the Row should not be in prison for a loooong time. In 34 years of work as a public defender, the clients whom I believed were innocent could be measured on both hands with some fingers left over. Nevertheless, even guilty people have constitutional rights.

The night my first client was executed, the woman who brought his last meal (cheesecake) was crying. Harold was well-liked in prison.

[noseybutt]

3 hours ago, sixcatatty said:

I did death penalty post-conviction work as a defense paralegal and attorney. Harmless is not a word I would have used. I am absolutely and always against the death penalty; I am also not so naive as not to believe that most folk on the Row should not be in prison for a loooong time. In 34 years of work as a public defender, the clients whom I believed were innocent could be measured on both hands with some fingers left over. Nevertheless, even guilty people have constitutional rights.

The night my first client was executed, the woman who brought his last meal (cheesecake) was crying. Harold was well-liked in prison.

I agree, most defense attorneys are well aware of danger and risk. It is true that someone can be high risk in the free world and yet docile and friendly when institutionalized. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

I was curious about the fellow inmate Creech was convicted of murdering in 1981, the murder for which he received this death sentence. (His previous death sentence for 2 murders in 1974 was reduced to life in prison, because of a 1979 supreme court ruling about the unconstitutional nature of the Idaho law of the time.)

I found an article from 2019 on East Idaho News. Apparently the sheriff and county prosecutor at the time believed that Creech was a danger to fellow inmates.

Quote

“Both Chuck Palmer and I wrote letters to the penitentiary warden, during that time frame, once he was released, warning the warden and the penitentiary system that this was a very dangerous criminal,” said Harris.

Chuck Palmer was the Ada County Sheriff at the time. He and Jim Harris, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney in 1981, both believed that if Creech were given the opportunity to kill, even while in prison, he would act on it.

Reportedly the other inmate, David Jensen, attacked Creech first. 

Spoiler

Court documents say David Dale Jensen attacked Thomas Creech with a sock filled with batteries.

Creech was able to take the weapon away from Jensen, and it was that same weapon Creech would later use to beat Jensen to death.

(clipped)

Creech went on to claim self-defense in the incident, but the prosecution argued he went above and beyond self-defense.

There are a lot more colorful details in that article than the more recent ones have had. Including Creech admitting to at least 26 murders, including some for "satanic cult worship rituals". It gave me the impression that Creech was really unstable, at least back in the 1980s. That isn't how his wife and prison friends describe him now, but I can't imagine trusting him, personally. 

[47of74]

On 3/7/2024 at 1:30 PM, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I was curious about the fellow inmate Creech was convicted of murdering in 1981, the murder for which he received this death sentence. (His previous death sentence for 2 murders in 1974 was reduced to life in prison, because of a 1979 supreme court ruling about the unconstitutional nature of the Idaho law of the time.)

I found an article from 2019 on East Idaho News. Apparently the sheriff and county prosecutor at the time believed that Creech was a danger to fellow inmates.

Reportedly the other inmate, David Jensen, attacked Creech first. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Court documents say David Dale Jensen attacked Thomas Creech with a sock filled with batteries.

Creech was able to take the weapon away from Jensen, and it was that same weapon Creech would later use to beat Jensen to death.

(clipped)

Creech went on to claim self-defense in the incident, but the prosecution argued he went above and beyond self-defense.

There are a lot more colorful details in that article than the more recent ones have had. Including Creech admitting to at least 26 murders, including some for "satanic cult worship rituals". It gave me the impression that Creech was really unstable, at least back in the 1980s. That isn't how his wife and prison friends describe him now, but I can't imagine trusting him, personally. 

I was watching some YouTube videos of the Darrell Brooks trial today.  Both the judge and prosecutor described that fornicate stick Brooks as pure evil and a danger to the community - part of the reason he should die in prison or be subjected to the death penalty.  (Unfortunately Wisconsin doesn't have the death penalty).  As I said before an adult having to spend the rest of his or her life in prison is far worse than the early release they'd get if the state ended their lives, but I do believe there are a handful of crimes when the death penalty is warranted.  Both in the Brooks case and in the Creech case.