Idaho

Idaho prisoner secures stay of execution, alleges cruel and unusual punishment

Published

2 years ago

March 3, 2024

Idaho prisoner secures stay of execution, alleges cruel and unusual punishment

By Kevin Fixler
Idaho Statesman

BOISE, Idaho — Immediately following the Idaho prison system’s failure Wednesday to execute the state’s longest-serving death row prisoner by lethal injection, his attorneys secured a stay of execution from a federal judge and filed a new demand to protect their client’s constitutional rights.

U.S. District Court Judge Amanda Brailsford for the District of Idaho issued a stay of execution for prisoner Thomas Creech about a half hour after Idaho Department of Correction officials called off his lethal injection when they couldn’t locate a vein for an IV. Attorneys for the prison system did not contest the emergency request for the stay from Creech’s attorneys, who alleged in their court filing that the execution team had “badly botched” their client’s scheduled lethal injection Wednesday morning.

Creech’s attorneys wrote that they were not aware at the time of their filing whether the prison system would again try to execute their client during his active death warrant, which expired at the end of the day Wednesday. IDOC Director Josh Tewalt said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference that the prison system decided not to make another attempt to execute Creech.

Tewalt and media witnesses said the execution team tried eight times to find a vein in different areas of Creech’s body over about an hour. The execution team’s failure to end Creech’s life by lethal injection “proves IDOC’s inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution,” his attorneys wrote.

A new death warrant — what would be the 13th for Creech since he was convicted of murder for the November 1974 shooting deaths of two men in Valley County — would need to be issued if prison officials were to attempt to execute him again. Creech, 73, received the death penalty and has been incarcerated in Idaho for nearly 50 years, the bulk of that time on death row.

Next, Creech’s attorneys with the legal nonprofit Federal Defender Services of Idaho argued that their client’s constitutional rights may have been violated during Wednesday’s execution attempt. They issued a legal demand that the prison system preserve all evidence, and that the execution chamber be kept in its present condition. They sought to inspect and photograph the chamber, and immediately speak with their client.

“This motion is based on Mr. Creech’s right to an execution free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment,” wrote Creech’s attorneys in the case that names Tewalt, Idaho, maximum security prison Warden Tim Richardson and IDOC prisons chief Chad Page as the defendants.

Members of the Idaho attorney general’s office objected on their behalf in a response filing, arguing that Creech’s attorneys had not stated a viable legal claim. They asked that Brailsford reject the request.

“While (the) plaintiff cites the Eighth Amendment, the motion does not contain any legal or other authoritative source citations to support plaintiff’s requests that IDOC preserve ‘evidence’ and the execution chamber,” the prison officials’ attorneys said.

Brailsford held a Wednesday afternoon conference call with attorneys from both sides to discuss the emergency demand, according to the court docket. The judge during the call reminded each side of their responsibility to preserve information they believe could be relevant in a future lawsuit.

Brailsford found the emergency demand to be moot, the docket stated, after attorneys for Creech and the prison system during the call reached agreement on each of the three requests in the legal demand. The terms of that compromise were not immediately clear.

Creech was returned to his cell after prison officials called off the execution, prison officials said. Tewalt said Wednesday that state officials are reviewing what they may do next.

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Idaho

University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

Published

2 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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Idaho

Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Gas prices expected to exceed as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.

“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”

On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.

State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline

Washington / $4.37
Oregon / $3.92
Nevada / $3.70
Idaho / $2.97
Colorado / $2.89
Montana / $2.82
Utah / $2.74
Wyoming / $2.73

In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.

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Idaho

Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 4 on March 1, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 1.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 1 drawing

Day: 7-2-3

Night: 2-7-6

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 1 drawing

Day: 4-7-9-3

Night: 8-7-7-3

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Idaho Cash numbers from March 1 drawing

03-06-07-33-41

Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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