BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday to uphold the death penalty for Idaho death row inmate Thomas Creech — leaving the final decision to the federal courts on whether or not the execution should proceed.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the district court's ruling that executing Creech following his failed execution in February would not be considered cruel and unusual punishment despite the execution team spending over an hour attempting to establish an IV.
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"The decline in nationwide executions does not indicate, as Creech has argued, that executing him by the use of a central line to administer a lethal injection is cruel and unusual," the court writes. "Instead, it indicates that the death penalty remains an issue of intense public debate ... . This Court has continued to uphold capital punishment in Idaho."
