Failed Execution Attempt of Thomas Creech

On February 28, 2024, Idaho attempted to execute Thomas Creech using lethal injection. The procedure became a documented example in the modern U.S. history of botched executions.

What happened

Idaho’s execution team tried access sites in Creech’s arms, legs, hands and feet. After about 58 minutes of unsuccessful attempts, the warden halted the execution and Creech was returned to his cell.

Result

The immediate result was that Thomas Creech survived the attempt after the execution team failed eight times to place a functioning IV. This is an important distinction in the broader history of execution failures: some botched procedures ultimately kill the prisoner after a prolonged or visibly problematic process, while others are abandoned and leave the prisoner alive.

Why the case is classified as botched

The Death Penalty Information Center’s historical compilation uses a research definition centered on breakdowns or departures from execution protocol that produce unanticipated problems, delays, possible unnecessary suffering, or gross operational incompetence. The Thomas Creech case fits that framework because the intended lethal injection process did not proceed in the controlled manner the state expected.

Historical context

The event page is kept separate from the person profile so later work can attach the correct prison, execution protocol, court litigation, officials, method history and state-level death-penalty context without overloading the biography.

Sources

– Death Penalty Information Center — Botched Executions (case entry for Thomas Creech)