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Creech, 74, survived execution by lethal injection in February after authorities were unable to establish an intravenous line through multiple parts of his body, court documents said.
His lawyers argued that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to carry out another execution after his botched execution earlier this year, and that it would violate the principles of double jeopardy, according to the petition last month.
They also claimed that Creech was traumatized after the execution team tried to start an IV line eight times.
“An attempt to execute Mr. Creech by any method, after a failed execution attempt, would constitute torture and a prolonged death,” the Oct. 17 petition said.
On Wednesday, Judge G Murray Snow granted Creech a stay, as the Idaho Supreme Court’s decision denying his requests came about a week before his scheduled execution.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho needed more time to evaluate Creech’s second appeal, the judge said.
Creech must now file a supplemental brief by Friday, court documents state, and his case will continue.
Creech’s attorney said “no comment” when reached CNN on Saturday.
Almost an hour trying to establish IV access
Creech, Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate, was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the 1981 murder of another inmate, David Dale Jensen, while Creech was serving four life sentences, according to a January statement from the Ada County District Attorney’s Office . .
Creech, described by authorities as a serial killer who “admitted to killing more than 40 people,” was sentenced to death in 1982 for killing Jensen, court documents state.
Idaho Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewalt deemed Creech’s execution in February “impossible,” according to a news release at the time.
Authorities spent nearly an hour trying to establish IV access to Creech’s body — including his arms, hands and ankles, “but each attempt resulted in a collapsed vein,” court documents state.
In the execution chamber, “the team tried eight times through multiple limbs and appendages to establish IV access in accordance with” department policy, Tewalt said.
At times, the team had “an access problem,” Tewalt said. In other cases, he was able to establish access but encountered a “vein quality problem.”
This “made them unsure of their ability to administer the chemicals through the intravenous site once it was established,” the director said, and the decision was made to stop the execution.
Executions are rare in Idaho. Since 1976, the state has executed only three, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Preparations for Creech’s second execution have been halted due to the stay, and the current death sentence expires Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Corrections said in a statement.
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