BOISE, Idaho — For almost half a century, Idaho’s prison staff have been providing Thomas Eugene Creech with three meals a day, conducting regular checks on him, and taking him to medical appointments.
This Wednesday, some of Idaho’s prison staff will be tasked with carrying out his execution. Unless there is a last-minute stay, the 73-year-old, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the nation, will be executed by lethal injection for the murder of a fellow prisoner with a battery-filled sock in 1981.
Creech’s history of violence includes the killing of David Jensen, a young, disabled man serving time for car theft, as well as being convicted of five murders in three states and suspected of several others.
Despite his violent past, Creech is now known within the Idaho Maximum Security Institution as “Tom,” a well-behaved elderly inmate with a love for poetry. Even a former warden, prison staff, and the judge who sentenced him to death have shown support for his unsuccessful clemency plea.
Creech’s legal team has filed numerous last-minute appeals in various courts in an attempt to stop the execution, which would be the first in Idaho in 12 years. They argue that Idaho’s refusal to disclose the source of the execution drug violates his rights and that he received inadequate legal representation.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected an argument that Creech should not be executed because he was sentenced by a judge rather than a jury.
It remains unclear how many people Creech, originally from Ohio, killed before his imprisonment in Idaho in 1974. While he once claimed to have killed up to 50 individuals, many of these confessions were made under the influence of discredited substances and included far-fetched stories of occult practices and contract killings for a motorcycle gang.
Official estimates suggest around 11 deaths, with Creech’s legal team not responding to requests for comment.
Creech’s violent history dates back to the 1970s, with multiple murders in different states leading to his eventual incarceration in Idaho. Despite attempts at rehabilitation, his scheduled execution has brought mixed emotions among prison staff who have known him for years.
Reflecting on Creech’s upcoming execution, Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt acknowledged the impact it will have on those who have developed relationships with him over the years.
