BOISE, Idaho — Civil rights groups and faith leaders around Idaho are petitioning and hosting a bevy of protests in opposition to the planned execution by lethal injection of Idaho serial killer Thomas Creech.
Idaho's longest-serving death row inmate, Creech, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday, Feb. 28, for murdering his jail cellmate in 1981. Creech was already serving prison time for the murders of two people near Donnelly in 1974.
With less than 24 hours to go before the lethal injection, faith leaders and civil rights advocacy groups are arranging several gatherings, including at the Idaho Statehouse, to bring awareness to Creech's execution.
A clemency petition has also been in circulation, garnering support from thousands of signees, defending the preservation of Creech's life.
The petition states that "Tom is an ailing 73-year-old man who poses no threat in prison. There is no need to execute him." It also said it "has been a model inmate with a nearly spotless prison record for 30 years."
As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, just 21 hours before the injection is to be administered, the clemency petition had accumulated 7,574 signatures.
Those in opposition to Creech's execution gathered at the Idaho State Capitol building on Tuesday at 11 p.m., a mere one day short of the planned death to "call for a halt to the execution," stated a news release from Death Penalty Action, an advocacy group that opposes the execution.
Following Tuesday's protest, the petition will go before Governor Brad Little.
In the state of Idaho, the governor has the ability to grant a reprieve.
Gov. Little previously said Creech was lawfully convicted by the court system and sentenced to death. In January, the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole tied on a vote on whether or not to recommend clemency - one member of that commission voted to abstain from voting, resulting in the execution plans moving forward.
"Governor Little says he is going to follow Idaho law by carrying out the execution, but Idaho law also provides the power to grant a reprieve so that the full Idaho Parole Commission may reconsider the case," said Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action.
Bonowitz further justified the organization's opposition to the execution, stating that the judge who initially sentenced Creech to death "now opposes this execution."
"The Idaho prison director calls Creech the most stable and respectful person on death row. This execution is an unnecessary and wasteful use of tax dollars,'" Bonowitz said.
Several events were organized to oppose Creech's Wednesday execution.
The first was Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol to deliver the petition to Gov. Little. The second is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. at Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Garden City.
According to Death Penalty Action, a third gathering was arranged for 9 a.m., one hour prior to the execution, at the entrance gates to the prison complex. Simultaneously, a gathering will occur at the bell in front of the Idaho Capitol.
A final event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, where churches across the state were asked to ring their church bells for two minutes at the scheduled time of Creech's death.
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