A US appeals court panel on Friday, February 23, 2024, struck down calls to delay Idaho’s scheduled execution. According to court documents, the planned execution was for one of the nation’s longest-serving death row inmates, Thomas Creech.
Like most long-serving inmates on death row, Creech has a sprawling criminal record. A court sentenced him to death in 1983 for killing a fellow prison inmate, David Jensen, with a battery-filled sock. Sources reveal that a court had previously convicted the 73-year-old man of four murders.
Hence, he was already serving life in prison when he killed Jensen. Authorities also suspect him of several other killings dating back over five decades. Court documents indicate that authorities set Creech’s death by lethal injection for Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
However, his attorneys asked a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco to delay Creech’s death. The attorneys argued they needed time to pursue a claim under the nation’s evolving standards of decency. Furthermore, the attorneys urged the court to set aside Creech’s death sentence.
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According to them, a judge issued it and not a jury, so it shouldn’t stand. The lawyers also argued that among people on death row nationwide, a judge alone sentenced just 2.1%. However, the three judges expressed skepticism during oral arguments on Thursday, February 22.
They noted that attorneys have used arguments about “evolving standards of decency” to bar the execution of juveniles or people with severe developmental delays. Yet, they said Creech’s lawyers presented little evidence to support their arguments.
The judges said they didn’t show proof that Americans disfavor the execution of inmates sentenced by judges rather than juries. “We gave you an opportunity to tell us what evidence you have of an evolving standard,” Judge Jay Bybee said. “And you haven’t provided anything.”
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He told Jonah Horwitz, an attorney for Creech, “This feels like it’s a delay for delay’s sake, and it’s a shot in the dark.” Similarly, the Idaho attorney general’s office opposed Creech’s request for a stay. The office argued that Creech could have raised the issue long ago. However, he waited until the last minute to try to stall the execution.
Deputy Attorney General LaMont Anderson condemned the attorney’s arguments. The DAG said Creech’s counsel was waiting till they scheduled an execution before making their claims. Hence, in Friday’s ruling, the appeals court panel rejected the request for delay. The judges claimed Creech should have raised the claim long ago.
An Ohio native, Creech’s history of suspected murders dates back half a century. In 1974, a court acquitted him in the stabbing death of 70-year-old retiree Paul Shrader in Tucson, Arizona. According to court records, Creech was a cook who lived at the motel where police found Shrader’s body.
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Afterward, he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he worked as a maintenance worker at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Authorities found the body of 22-year-old William Joseph Dean in Creech’s living quarters on August 7, 1974. Also, he reportedly shot a grocery store worker, Sandra Jane Ramsamooj, that same day.
In November 1974, Creech and his then-17-year-old girlfriend were hitchhiking in Idaho when two traveling house painters picked them up. However, police found the painters, John Wayne Bradford and Edward Thomas Arnold, shot dead and partially buried along a highway. They convicted Creech of the crime, and his girlfriend testified against him.
After confessing to over 40 killings and authorities tying him to nine, a court sentenced Creech to death in 1975. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that automatic death sentences were unconstitutional. As a result, the court converted it to a life term. After killing Jensen in prison, the court again sentenced him to death.
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