The sentence was suspended at the last moment.
In the United States, the execution of a 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 time limit, the prison administration of this state announced. northwest of the country.
Thomas Creech, 73, a serial murderer, 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 “give him 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 what to do next 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.
Also read: Death penalty in the United States: with nitrogen inhalation, the “mirage” of a “clean” execution
All of the 24 executions carried out in the United States in 2023 were carried out by lethal injection.
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 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.
Online petition
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 STATE WILL EXECUTE IVAN CANTU TODAY 🚨
Texas Gov Greg Abbott is last resort for 30 day reprieve for Ivan CANTU, set to die TODAY.
Urge him to use his power to allow time for new evidence in Ivan's case to be evaluated, lest Texas execute a wrongly convicted man.
Urgent… https://t.co/qkNU4juu6d
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) February 28, 2024
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 Gallup poll, 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.