Long-term Idaho death row inmate Thomas Creech challenges execution, seeks new hearing

9:45 a.m. Update

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Creech is asking the U.S. District Court of Idaho to stay his Feb. 28 execution and grant him a new commutation hearing to challenge information during the original proceeding before the Idaho Commission on Pardons and Parole.

The federal complaint focuses on two moves by the state.

First, the state declared Creech guilty of the 1974 fatal shooting of Daniel Walker in California. The complaint argues no evidence was presented, and the Commission was told a vote for clemency would mean Creech got away with another murder. The investigation into Walker's murder is still open.

Second, the state showed a photograph of a sock allegedly used as a weapon in the killing of David Jensen. The photo shows Creech's name written on the sock in marker, but the complaint says the sock in the photo does not appear to match the sock in the official crime scene photos in many ways.

The full complaint can be read below:

Original story

State justices may decide Wednesday whether the execution of Idaho's longest-serving death row inmate will go forward as planned.

Thomas Creech's lawyers made their case for a 'stay on execution' to the Idaho Supreme Court yesterday morning. They say they have concerns that his execution was imposed by a judge and not a jury.

"There are only certain classes of people where a plausible theory can be articulated that they are protected from the death penalty because of changing norms," says Jonah Horowitz, one of Creech's lawyers. "This is a very strong illustration of that, where you have essentially no one being executed in America today who is sentenced by a judge outside of Idaho."

Creech's execution is set for later this month on Feb. 28. His attorneys want it put on pause until they can finalize their appeal.

"The petition that has been filed in this case is the biggest hail mary that I've seen in the 26-plus years I've been doing capital litigation," says Deputy Attorney General Lamont Anderson. "It was filed at the last minute. It was filed one day, one day after the state got a death warrant."

Creech is convicted of three murders in Idaho and a couple more in other states, but he admits to 26 killings. He has been in prison for nearly 50 years and on death row for 40.

ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmpaeTlrlwtcOan6irXauytbHRmqVmnJWWwal50aiuZqGeoq61sYyfmJydo2LCr6%2FLnpirZZaqwba%2BxGacsZ2TqsGqu81mm56bmai2sLqMnayeZaeasa%2Bx0p2Ysg%3D%3D