The execution of an American death row inmate was stopped at the last minute in Idaho on Wednesday because he was unable to administer the lethal solution within the legal deadline, the prison administration of this northwestern state announced. country.
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Thomas Creech, 73, a serial murderer who spent more than 50 years on death row for killing a fellow inmate while serving a life sentence, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.
But almost an hour after the start of the execution, the prison management concluded that it was impossible to “put him on an intravenous drip,” the prison administration said in a press release. “The execution order will therefore expire,” she added, specifying that the State should decide on the follow-up in this case.
The last execution missed for these reasons was that of Kenneth Smith in Alabama (southeast) on November 17, 2022. Definitively sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a woman ordered by her husband, he was finally executed on January 25 by nitrogen inhalation, a world first which sparked a wave of global indignation.
All of the 24 executions carried out in the United States in 2023 were carried out by lethal injection.
Capital punishment abolished in 23 states
The execution of Thomas Creech was one of two scheduled for Wednesday in the United States.
Ivan Cantu, 50, sentenced to death in 2000 and whose fate attracted the attention of celebrities, is awaiting execution Wednesday evening in Texas (south).
He was sentenced to death in 2001 for the gun killings of his cousin, James Mosqueda, and his fiancée, Amy Kitchen. A double murder of which he always said he was innocent.
The main prosecution witness at his trial had been his then-fiancée, Amy Boettcher. She claimed that Ivan Cantu confessed to the crime to her and drove her to the scene before taking her to Arkansas (south).
Amy Boettcher’s brother, Jeff Boettcher, also incriminated her at trial, but he recanted his testimony following his sister’s death in 2021.
Ivan Cantu pointed the finger at a local drug dealer to whom his cousin owed a lot of money.
Following the discovery of new elements as well as the emergence of doubts about these prosecution testimonies, his execution, scheduled for April 2023, was suspended but this suspension was then lifted by the Texas Court of Appeal.
Actor Martin Sheen, an opponent of capital punishment, urged people on Instagram to sign the online petition, which has already collected more than 150,000 signatures, to ask conservative Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stay the death penalty. execution.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian also calls for mobilization on social media on Wednesday to ask the governor for “a 30-day reprieve” in order to re-examine Ivan Cantu’s case.
The Texas Conference of Bishops voted for a reprieve, noting the “serious uncertainties” surrounding the sentencing.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 American states. Six others (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee) observe a moratorium on executions by decision of the governor.
According to a recent poll by the Gallup Institute, a majority of Americans (50% versus 47%) believe that capital punishment is not fairly applied in the United States, a first since the launch of this survey in 2000. The majority (53%) nevertheless remains in favor of the death penalty, according to the same source.
