IDAHO — As Idaho prepares to carry out executions by firing squad, the state's new execution procedures are facing a legal challenge in federal court while anti-death penalty advocates ramp up public opposition.
The Execution Intervention Project unveiled a billboard in Boise this week reading, "Idaho, Don't Shoot Tom Creech," urging the state to reconsider its new execution method after Idaho officially made the firing squad its primary method of execution.
At the same time, longtime death row inmates Thomas Creech and Gerald Ross Pizzuto Jr. have filed a federal lawsuit against Idaho corrections officials, arguing the state's new firing squad law violates both the U.S. Constitution and their religious rights.
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Creech is on death row for the 1981 murder of a fellow inmate. Pizzuto was sentenced to death for the 1985 killings of two people near McCall.
Creech has spent more than four decades on Idaho's death row and survived a failed execution attempt in February 2024 after the execution team was unable to establish intravenous access.
Idaho News 6 was present during the execution attempt. Pizzuto has also spent decades on death row, and his execution has been delayed multiple times because of ongoing litigation and health concerns.
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One of the lawsuit's central claims is that Idaho's new firing squad procedures would prevent spiritual advisors from maintaining physical contact with condemned inmates during an execution.
"A spiritual advisor has a constitutional right. The condemned have a constitutional right to have their spiritual advisor touching them during the execution," said the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, a spiritual advisor and death penalty opponent who spoke during a virtual news conference hosted by the Execution Intervention Project.
The lawsuit also challenges Idaho's newly adopted firing squad procedures, which provide the first detailed look at how the state plans to carry out executions.
Under the procedures, executions would involve:
- A three-member firing squad.
- Two alternate shooters.
- .308 caliber rifles.
- The option of offering the condemned inmate a mild sedative before the execution.
Randy Gardner, whose brother was executed by firing squad in Utah, said he opposes Idaho's new execution method.
"One of my biggest concerns is ... it's very barbaric. I don't think we should be executing any of our citizens," Gardner said.
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The State of Idaho has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
In court filings, the Idaho Attorney General's Office argues the firing squad is constitutional, contends the inmates' current claims conflict with arguments they made in previous death penalty litigation, and says the state has a compelling interest in carrying out lawful death sentences.
Idaho News 6 reached out to the Idaho Department of Corrections for comment. A department spokesperson declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
The federal judge has not yet ruled on the state's motion to dismiss the case.
