After 50 years in prison, 73-year-old Thomas Creech will be executed this Wednesday (28th), which will be the first execution in 12 years in Idaho. The serial killer is reportedly one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the United States to date. In 1976, Creech was sentenced to death for the first time for killing four people in quick succession, before Jimmy Carter became an American ** and disco had not yet become popular. After decades of "twists and turns" and nine American leaders, Creech was sentenced to death for the 12th time in January this year, officially starting the countdown to his life. 
The execution chamber where Creech is about to be executedFour people were arrested in a rowHe also beat his fellow inmates to death in prisonIn 1973, Thomas Creech was tried for 70-year-old retiree Paul Schrader and was eventually acquitted and released. In 1974, he committed two ** crimes in California and Oregon in quick succession, and in November of the same year, he was arrested after shooting and killing two men in Idaho. In 1976, Creech was sentenced to death for killing four people in quick succession, but in 1979 his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. 
In 1981, however, he was sentenced to death again in 1983 when he beat his cellmate David Dale Jensen to death with a sock full of batteries. A few months before Jensen's death, Creech reportedly stabbed another prisoner in the hope of "being transferred to a cell of his liking." "When that didn't work, he killed Jensen," prosecutors said. Prosecutors' investigation into Creech has reportedly continued, and according to prosecutors, he is also involved in at least six other cases, but it remains unclear how many people Creech killed before 1974. The District Attorney's Office stated that "the number of victims he confessed to was more than 40 people", but it could not be verified. According to the report, Creech is one of the longest-waiting death row inmates in the United States. This was due in part to the reopening of the sentencing process in 1991 when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that its initial death sentence was unconstitutional. In the years since, Creech has appealed to state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court several times, and "all the case documents are packed in 34 boxes." After 50 years in prison, 11 planned executions failedHe was also married to the prison guard's motherIdaho had reportedly planned to execute Creech at the end of last year, but the death order was overturned again after the Idaho Pardon and Parole Commission "rarely agreed" to hold a pardon hearing for Creech. It is reported that he is the third death row inmate in Idaho to be reviewed for pardon since 1976. Creech has reportedly "developed a deep bond" with the staff at his prison over the past few decades. In January, both current and former prison employees who worked closely with Creech submitted statements to the Idaho Pardon and Parole Commission asking for his death sentence to be quashed. "Some of our correctional officers grew up with Creech. Idaho Department of Corrections Director Tvort said. "Our warden has a long-standing relationship with him. Over time, a familiar and rapport was developed between us. In 1998, Creech and his wife, Leanne Creech, completed their wedding "through **" while in prison. And the couple's "matchmaker" is Leanne's son, a guard at the prison where Creech is staying. 
Creech (center) at a pardon hearing in January this year, the pardon and parole board was "deadlocked" in the Creech case by a 3-3 vote, meaning the death penalty will continue to be carried out. Creech was sentenced to death for the 12th time and is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on February 28. In recent months, Creech's lawyers have filed a series of appeals to four separate courts to try to suspend executions, all of which have been rejected. Earlier this month, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected Creech's request for a moratorium on executions. On February 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit again rejected Creech's appeal that he should not be executed. This means that Creech will be executed by lethal injection on the 28th, as planned. The "aging" of death row prisoners in the United States is seriousCause controversyAlthough Creech is an extreme case in the U.S. death penalty system, in fact, it is common for death row inmates to wait decades from being sentenced to death to being executed, the report said. Since the death penalty was re-legalized in the United States in 1976, the average wait time for death row inmates in prison has been increasing. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, that number has "stabilized for about 20 years" in recent years. According to statistics, prisoners over the age of 60 now account for a quarter of the number of death row prisoners at the state level. In 2017, Ohio** canceled the death penalty for a 69-year-old man who could not find his veins at the time of execution due to his physical frailty. Eventually, the condemned inmate, Alva Campbell, died of a terminal illness before his second execution in 2019. These cases have sparked a discussion about whether it makes sense for "old people to be punished for the crimes they committed when they were young". Creche's defense lawyer, Deborah Church, claimed she had two other elderly clients facing the death penalty, an 80-year-old in California and a 76-year-old in Nevada. "Looking at these prisoners, it's hard to imagine the point of executing them. Chuba said. Judge Robert Newhouse, who had sentenced Creech to death, also said in a statement, "Creech has been locked up for so long and should not die again." Now the executions are only an act of revenge. At the same time, some critics of the death penalty say that prolonged solitary confinement of death row inmates causes them mental anguish and may lead them to form contact with the detainees, "who also experience pain when the executions are eventually carried out." As happened in the Creech case. However, the prosecutor in charge of the case and the relatives of the victims do not think so. In their opinion, Creech should have been executed a long time ago. Deputy Prosecutor Jill Longhurst said at the hearing that Creech remained a threat and should be executed because he "kills people almost as he pleases, with little regard or concern for the consequences." "Thomas Creech is a manipulative serial killer who values only his own life and has always believed that he should not have to pay for his horrific crimes. Brandi Jensen, the daughter of one of the victims, said. "It's time to end this 43-year-old nightmare. Some supporters of upholding the death penalty also say that the increasing wait for execution undoubtedly weakens the validity of the sentence and denies justice to the victims. "Unfortunately, the court has allowed these cases to be extended indefinitely," said Kent Scheedger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Law Society. **Red Star News.