BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The on-again-off-again saga of the State of Idaho attempting to execute death row inmate Thomas Creech continues.
Creech, who is now 73-years-old, has spent the last 40 years on death row. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of fellow inmate David Dale Jensen. Creech was sentenced to death by a Judge acting alone, there was no jury present, a practice that is now outdated and considered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Judge Newhouse who imposed the death penalty verdict on Creech all those years ago, now says he opposes the execution and has formally joined the support for clemency for Creech. Judge Newhouse isn't alone, a growing number of guards, prison nurses, and correctional staff say he deserves mercy, citing his positive attitude, personal growth, respect, kindness, and deep compassion for staff and fellow inmates, according to a statement from Creech's attorney's.
A new brief filed by the Federal Defender Services of Idaho on behalf of Thomas Creech argues in part that he is the only death row inmate in the country who was sentenced by a judge without a jury who is facing an active death warrant. Nearly every other state in the country has commuted the death sentences of such inmates to life in prison after the U.S. Supreme Court found that death sentences imposed solely by judges were unconstitutional in 2002.
While other states have since carried out executions of inmates who were sentenced solely by judges, the brief claims they have all been essentially halted. Arizona, one of the last holdouts along with Idaho and Nebraska, has just put a moratorium on executing inmates who were convicted solely by a judge.
As Idaho continues to attempt to execute the death warrant of Thomas Creech, he will have a clemency hearing on January 19, in front of the Idaho Commission on Pardons and Parole. A legal challenge filed by Creech's attorneys to his judge-imposed sentence is also pending at the Idaho Supreme Court.
CBS2 will continue to update this story.
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