Idaho officials botch execution of serial killer by failing in repeated attempts to establish an IV for lethal injection

As reported in this AP article, “Idaho on Wednesday delayed the execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S., after a failed attempt at lethal injection.” Here is more:

Creech, 73, was imprisoned in 1974 and has been convicted of five murders in three states and suspected of several more.  He was already serving life in prison when he beat a fellow inmate, 22-year-old David Dale Jensen, to death in 1981 — the crime for which Creech was to be executed more than four decades later.

Creech was wheeled into the room at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution on a gurney at 10 a.m.  The warden announced he was halting the execution at 10:58 a.m.  Six Idaho officials, including Attorney General Raul Labrador, and four news media representatives, including an Associated Press reporter, were on hand to witness the attempt.

Idaho’s prison director said the medical team could not establish an IV line to administer the fatal drug.  A team of three medical team members tried repeatedly to establish an IV, attempting sites in both of Creech’s arms and legs.  The IV sites appeared to be in the crook of his arms, his hands, near his ankles and in his feet.  At one point, the medical cart holding supplies was moved in front of the media witness viewing window, partially obscuring the view of the medical team’s efforts.  A team member also had to leave the execution chamber to gather more supplies….

After the execution was halted, the warden approached Creech and whispered to him for several minutes, giving his arm a squeeze.  Creech’s attorneys immediately filed a new motion for a stay in U.S. District Court, saying “Given the badly botched execution attempt this morning, which proves IDOC’s inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution, undersigned counsel preemptively seek an emergency stay of execution to prevent any further attempts today.”

The Idaho Department of Corrections said its death warrant for Creech would expire, and that it was considering next steps.

Creech’s attorneys filed a flurry of late appeals hoping to forestall his execution.  They included claims that his clemency hearing was unfair, that it was unconstitutional to kill him because he was sentenced by a judge rather than a jury and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. But the courts found no grounds for leniency. Creech’s last chance — a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court — was denied a few hours before the scheduled execution Wednesday….

Creech’s execution was to be Idaho’s first in 12 years. Last year, Idaho lawmakers passed a law authorizing execution by firing squad when lethal injection is not available.  Prison officials have not yet written a standard operating policy for the use of firing squad, nor have they constructed a facility where a firing squad execution could occur.  Both of those things would have to happen before the state could attempt to use the new law, which would likely trigger several legal challenges in court.