Current:Home > ScamsEchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center|Idaho death row inmate nearing execution wants a new clemency hearing. The last one ended in a tie -Excel Wealth Summit
EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center|Idaho death row inmate nearing execution wants a new clemency hearing. The last one ended in a tie
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 14:56:21
BOISE,EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center Idaho (AP) — An Idaho man scheduled to be executed at the end of the month is asking a federal court to put his lethal injection on hold and order a new clemency hearing after the previous one resulted in a tie vote.
Thomas Eugene Creech is Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate. He was already serving time after being convicted of killing two people in Valley County in 1974 when he was sentenced to die for beating a fellow inmate to death with a sock full of batteries in 1981.
Last month the state’s parole board voted 3-3 on Creech’s request to have his sentence changed to life without parole after one of is members recused himself from the case. Under state rules, a majority of the board must vote in favor of clemency for that recommendation to be sent to the governor.
But even that is no guarantee: The state also allows the governor to overrule clemency recommendations, and Gov. Brad Little said last week that he has “zero intention of taking any action that would halt or delay Creech’s execution.”
“Thomas Creech is a convicted serial killer responsible for acts of extreme violence,” Little said in a statement, later continuing, “His lawful and just sentence must be carried out as ordered by the court. Justice has been delayed long enough.”
During his clemency hearing, Ada County deputy prosecutor Jill Longhurst characterized Creech as a sociopath with no regard for human life. She noted his long criminal record, which also includes murder convictions in Oregon and in California. Yet another murder indictment in Oregon was dropped by prosecutors because he had already been given four life sentences there.
At times, Creech has claimed to have killed several more.
“The facts underlying this case could not be more chilling,” then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in a 1993 opinion, upholding an Idaho law about when defendants can be sentenced to death. The ruling came after Creech appealed his sentence, arguing that the statute was unconstitutionally vague.
“Thomas Creech has admitted to killing or participating in the killing of at least 26 people,” O’Connor continued. “The bodies of 11 of his victims — who were shot, stabbed, beaten, or strangled to death — have been recovered in seven states.”
Creech’s defense attorneys say that the number of killings tied to him is highly exaggerated and that Creech, 73, has changed during his decades behind bars.
Creech has had a positive influence on younger inmates and went 28 years without a single disciplinary offense before being written up once in 2022 for a “misunderstanding over a card game,” lawyer Jonah Horwitz with the Idaho Federal Defenders Office said during his clemency hearing.
Creech has drawn support in his commutation request from some seemingly unlikely sources, including a former prison nurse, a former prosecutor and the judge who sentenced him death.
Judge Robert Newhouse told a clemency board last year that no purpose would be served by executing Creech after 40 years on death row. Doing so now would just be an act of vengeance, he said in a petition.
In their federal appeal seeking a new clemency hearing, Creech’s defense attorneys say having one board member absent from the decision put their client at an unfair disadvantage. Normally an inmate would have to convince a simple majority to get a clemency recommendation, but with one person missing, that became two-thirds of the board, his attorneys noted.
Either another board member should have stepped aside to avoid a tie vote or someone else should have been appointed to fill the seventh seat, they said.
Creech also has two appeals on other issues pending before the Idaho Supreme Court and has appealed another case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
veryGood! (61583)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Multiple people shot along I-75 south of Lexington, Kentucky, authorities say
- Two astronauts are left behind in space as Boeing’s troubled capsule returns to Earth empty
- Talks between Boeing and its biggest union are coming down to the wire - and a possible strike
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- AEW All Out 2024 live updates, results, match card, grades and more
- Why an ominous warning didn't stop Georgia school shooting
- ‘Wicked’ director Jon M. Chu on ‘shooting the moon,’ casting Ariana Grande and growing 9M tulips
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Impaired driver arrested after pickup crashes into Arizona restaurant, injuring 25
Ranking
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Russell Wilson's injury puts Justin Fields in as Steelers' starting QB vs. Falcons
- Notre Dame upset by NIU: Instant reactions to historic Northern Illinois win
- NASCAR Atlanta live updates: How to watch Sunday's Cup Series playoff race
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Business up front, party in the back: Teen's voluminous wave wins USA Mullet Championship
- As Climate Threats to Agriculture Mount, Could the Mississippi River Delta Be the Next California?
- Ashley Tisdale Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Husband Christopher French
Recommendation
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Packers QB Jordan Love suffers MCL sprain in loss to Eagles
Michigan mess and Texas triumph headline college football Week 2 winners and losers
Empty Starliner on its way home: Troubled Boeing craft undocks from space station
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Manhunt underway for suspect in active shooter situation that shut down I-75 in Kentucky
Dolphins' Tyreek Hill detained by police hours before season opener
Dream Kardashian, 7, Makes Runway Modeling Debut at New York Fashion Week