UPDATE (10/16): On Wednesday morning, the Idaho Department of Correction issued a death warrant to inmate Thomas Creech. His execution is now scheduled for November 13 at 10 a.m.
According to a statement from IDOC, the Maximum Security Institution has the necessary chemicals to execute Creech using lethal injection.
Creech's legal team released a statement, saying this is cruel and unusual punishment and that “the state is sacrificing common decency and humanity in its haste for an execution”.
His legal team would not confirm any specific appeals, but say there are “many legal actions in play.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
ORIGINAL STORY: This month, the Idaho Department of Correction finalized renovations at the Maximum Security Institution.
The F block, where the execution chamber is located, now includes an execution preparation room. This room will allow the medical team to determine whether a peripheral IV is accessible. If it isn’t, the F block now has space for a physician to place a central line in the condemned person.
Once central line access is established, the inmate will be transported to the execution chambers where lethal injections will be performed. IDOC’s updated procedures require a live video feed of the execution preparation to be available to the State and approved witnesses.
In February, Idaho stopped the execution of Thomas Creech after the medical team tried eight times to locate a viable vein to complete the execution. Creech’s attorneys argued that another attempt to execute Creech would violate his fifth amendment right against double jeopardy and eighth amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment.
In September, a judge sided with the state, and dismissed the attempts to stay the execution.
Creech was sentenced to death in 1981 for killing a fellow inmate, while serving time for a double murder.
