A federal judge has temporarily halted the execution of American serial killer Thomas Creech.
Creech, who was convicted of two murders committed in 1974, was originally sentenced to death in Idaho when he was first charged. However, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment two years later—that is until he murdered another person in prison in 1981.
Overall, the serial killer has been convicted of five murders and is suspected of several more. One of those cases was solved earlier this year. Court filings also revealed that Creech even admitted to killing or participating in the killings of 26 people.
Creech was set to die via a lethal injection earlier this year, but the execution team failed to deliver the drug into a viable vein. In other words, he escaped execution—again. In fact, Creech is one of the nation’s longest-serving death row inmates.
Now, his execution is—well, was—scheduled for Nov. 13. However, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow put a temporary halt on that plan. This comes after Creech’s attorneys filed an appeal, labeling a second execution attempt as cruel and unusual punishment. They claimed it would violate double jeopardy protections.
Though the court dismissed this argument, Creech appealed the court’s denial to the Idaho Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court. His attorney filed an emergency motion and asked for a stay of execution until their appeal could be ruled in the U.S. District Court, according to KTVB7.
While the Idaho Supreme Court denied the appeal, the U.S. District Court granted the emergency motion.
“Because the last reasoned state court decision—the operative filing for AEDPA purposes—was issued just a week before Creech’s scheduled execution, a stay is necessary to allow the parties to fully brief, and for this Court to fully consider, Creech’s habeas claims,” Judge Snow wrote.
At the hearing, the federal judge also stated that he won’t “rush justice in a case like this.”
“Even if the (Idaho court’s) opinion came down today, I would be inclined to stay this matter for at least 20 days,” he said.
The post Execution of Serial Killer Thomas Creech Delayed Again After Botched First Attempt appeared first on VICE.
The post Execution of Serial Killer Thomas Creech Delayed Again After Botched First Attempt appeared first on VICE.
