Idaho halted the execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech on Wednesday after medical team members repeatedly failed to find a vein where they could establish an intravenous line to carry out the lethal injection. Creech, 73, has been in prison half a century, convicted of five murders in three states and suspected of several more. Creech, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S., was wheeled into the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution on a gurney a
I just don’t see the point in keeping him around based on his record. There are some things to consider in the case that put Creech in line for execution like the report indicating that the roommate attacked him initially. They go into more detail here and explain why he meets the criteria for the death penalty even with that and other factors in mind. Long story short, it’s not worth betting innocent lives on his rehabilitation by letting him out until he’s carried out. What good will come from further delaying the inevitable?
To state the obvious, not everyone who is convicted of a crime is guilty and not all guilty convicts (including cases of homicide) deserve the death penalty. In this situation, guilt is clearly established and for the nothing my opinion is worth, I agree with what they’ve said in the link above about why execution is warranted. The claw hammer and woodchipper suggestions were flippant and absurd but once it’s decided and if processes to overturn that decision are fruitless, they should just set the date and get it done. More realistically, it’d be something like inert gas or an inhaled poison and would vary by state. Planning ahead seems pretty basic to me but I’m sure there are dense legal tomes out there explaining why they don’t do it.