One of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S. will be executed in Idaho. The convicted murderer has been imprisoned since 1974, but family members say he has a "gentle soul."
The hour of Thomas Eugene Creech s death has been set. On Wednesday morning Idaho prison officials will have the 73-year-old brought into the state s execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise for the state s first execution in 12 years.
After a last-minute reprieve was rejected, Thomas Eugene Creech was to be asked if he would like a mild sedative to calm him before he is killed on Wednesday. Supporters say the 73-year-old, who writes poetry and married the mother of a prison office, is a deeply changed man.
Thomas Creech frequently extended his fingers toward loved ones as they watched on during repeated attempts to administer a lethal injection. The warden was then seen whispering to him for several minutes and giving his arm a squeeze.