Two aging Idaho death row prisoners filed suit this week against the Department of Correction, alleging officials violated state law when implementing the state’s new firing squad execution method without proper procedural safeguards.
Thomas Creech, 75, and Gerald Pizzuto, 70, brought the challenge under Idaho’s Administrative Procedure Act, arguing that Department of Correction Director Bree Derrick’s approval of firing squad standard operating procedures amounted to “arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.” The inmates are represented by Federal Defender Services of Idaho and contend the implementation may violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit centers on firing squad protocols that the agency posted online last month, following legislation that took effect July 1. Idaho Governor Brad Little signed the measure into law earlier this year, making Idaho one of only five U.S. states that permit firing squad executions—and the only state where it serves as the primary method.
A Shift in Execution Methods After Decades of Lethal Injection
Idaho has not executed anyone since 2012 and has never carried out a firing squad execution in its history. The state relied on lethal injection for three decades beginning in the 1990s, but that method faced mounting legal and practical obstacles.
In February 2024, execution personnel spent nearly an hour attempting to find a suitable vein for Creech’s scheduled lethal injection before calling off the procedure. That failed execution prompted legislative action. The state legislature passed a measure in 2023 authorizing firing squad as a backup method, then advanced another bill in 2025 elevating it to the primary execution technique. Idaho spent more than $1 million renovating the execution chamber to accommodate the new protocol.
The legal landscape shifted further when lawmakers passed legislation this year that removed court review of the Corrections Director’s decisions regarding death penalty implementation—a move that prompted the defendants’ current Administrative Procedure Act claim.
Health Conditions and Constitutional Arguments
Both inmates carry significant medical burdens that inform their legal strategy. Creech, incarcerated for more than 50 years and on death row for the majority of that span, suffers from a large stomach aneurysm, edema, and Type 2 diabetes. Pizzuto, imprisoned for over 40 years following a 1985 shooting deaths during a robbery, contends with late-stage bladder cancer, coronary artery disease, and a history of multiple heart attacks.
The suit challenges the procedural legitimacy of how the department adopted the new execution method, not merely the method itself. The inmates argue that the Director’s unilateral approval, coupled with the legislature’s recent restriction on judicial review, deprived them of due process protections under state administrative law.
Broader Legal Battles and Federal Appeals Pending
This challenge arrives amid ongoing federal litigation over Idaho’s execution practices. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction last year that barred the Department of Correction from using lethal injection pending improvements to media access in the execution chamber. The Attorney General’s Office appealed that decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a ruling remains pending.
Idaho represents one of 27 U.S. states that retain capital punishment. The state’s adoption of firing squad as its primary execution method reflects a national rarity: only four other states allow the practice at all, and none have designated it as the default option.
When former Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt testified to a House committee in 2022 about execution methods, he cautioned lawmakers against assuming a shift to alternative methods would reduce litigation. “I don’t think you could expect fewer legal challenges to a firing squad,” Tewalt stated, adding that “viewing alternative methods of execution as an easier path…is going to have the inverse result.”
What Comes Next
The state district court must now evaluate whether Director Derrick followed proper administrative procedures when adopting the firing squad protocols. The case unfolds against the backdrop of the pending 9th Circuit appeal on lethal injection procedures, suggesting Idaho’s entire execution framework may face years of judicial scrutiny before any execution occurs under the new firing squad system.