Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Thomas Eugene Creech is one of the most notorious serial killers in US history. The authorities reportedly convicted him of committing two murders in 1974. Subsequently, the court sentenced him to death. The serial killer was about to be executed on Wednesday but was spared after the medical team failed to administer a lethal injection properly.
According to ABC News, the medical team could not establish an IV line, which is why the execution couldn’t take place. For the uninitiated, Thomas Creech filed a request for a stay of execution. However, the court denied the request and cleared the way for the execution. The outlet also mentioned that six members of the prison took Creech into the execution chamber. At first, the medical team was confident in the procedure and noted that they could administer the injection by establishing an IV.
The aforementioned publication also mentioned that the team tried establishing the IV line, but failed to do so. Citing the Idaho Department of Corrections, ABC News noted, “The team attempted eight times through multiple limbs and appendages to establish IV access, consistent with IDOC policy.” They continued, “This is a team of competent medical professionals.”
The outlet also noted that a “vein quality issue” was one of the major problems during the execution. This didn’t let the executioners form an IV line and prompted them to call off the execution. As of now, the authorities haven’t revealed when they’ll be able to execute Thomas Creech again. Currently, he is residing at Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho.
Thomas Creech’s murder case explored
Authorities first charged Thomas Creech for murdering two men in 1974 in Valley County, Idaho. As per Idaho Statesman, the court gave him the death penalty. However, his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. The court overturned his sentence after the Supreme Court prohibited automatic death sentences. While testifying in his trial, Creech admitted that he killed 42 people by the time he had turned 24. However, he later recanted his statement and said that he was a part of 26 slayings.
For years, Thomas Creech has said that the death of his wife made him insane. Citing his statements, Idaho Statesman reported that 11 men gang-raped his wife and threw her from a two-story building. Although she survived the fall, Creech’s wife committed suicide in Oregon. As a result, he went on a killing spree and murdered nine of the 11 culprits.
He said, “I went after them. All those happened within just a couple months. I think that I did get them nine.” Meanwhile, in an interview given to The Wall Street Journal, Creech revealed that he committed four murders after fits of rage. In the interview, he also made it clear that drugs made him experience those fits of rage.
No timeline is set for another execution attempt
The outlet also revealed that he killed a fellow prisoner and pleaded guilty. As a result, the court resentenced him to death in 1982. Since then, he has been on death row. Despite his horrifying crimes, CBS News reported that prison staffers labeled Thomas Creech a “well-behaved” inmate.
The publication also mentioned that only three people have been executed in Idaho since 1976, and Creech would be the fourth one, per the Death Penalty Information Center.
Currently, there has been no timeline on when Thomas Creech will be executed again.
