Death row inmate who survived lethal injection reveals terrifying 'afterlife' experience

A death row killer who survived the lethal injection has opened up on the petrifying experience, including what he calls his brush with the ‘afterlife’.

Inmate Thomas Creech, 73, has been behind bars in Idaho for 50 years after he committed two murders in 1974, before going on to kill a fellow inmate in 1981.

He is the state's longest-serving person on death row, with the authorities' attempt at delivering the lethal injection not quite going to plan.

Creech was supposed to face his punishment in February 2024, however the execution was botched with medical professionals struggling to perform the lethal injection procedure.

Staff reportedly failed to find a suitable vein in either his arms, hands or legs, meaning there was no way to go ahead.

The prisoner’s legal team say that the whole process went on for roughly 42 minutes before they decided to call it quits.

Thomas Creech has recounted his experience of a botched lethal injection (Federal Defender Services of Idaho)

One of the lawyers, Deborah Czuba, said the day was ‘scarring’ for Creech ‘mental-health-wise’.

And the inmate has since lifted the lid on the day himself, including exactly how he was feeling when he thought he was moments from death.

Speaking out on the harrowing experience for the first time, Creech told the New York Times: "The worst ones was when they got down to my ankles.

“I was thinking the whole time that this is really it. I'm dead. This is my day to die."

Reflecting on the long-lasting impact of the failed attempt, he revealed that even now, sometimes he questions whether he is really still alive.

He hauntingly admitted: "I thought maybe I might already be in the afterlife. Even now, today, I stop and I have to catch myself and think, 'Am I really dead?'

He admitted that he still to this day questions whether he is 'really still alive' (Getty Images/Alex Walker)

“I was supposed to be dead on the 28th of February. Am I really dead, and this is part of the afterlife? Continued punishment for my sins that I've committed?”

Sharing details of what actually went on in the dreaded room, Creech talked about his wife LeAnn's reaction - a prison guard's mother who he found love with and ultimately married while imprisoned.

He said that the ‘look on her face’ tore his ‘heart out’ and it’s what stuck with him the most.

Before being taken down to the room, the prisoner tucked into a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy from the prison and said his goodbyes to family and his lawyers.

At a press conference after the failed attempt, Josh Tewalt, Idaho's prison system director at the time, commented on the unique situation and emphasised why it was the right decision to stop the execution.

Creech revealed that what haunts him the most is the look on his wife LeAnn's face while the procedure was underway (Federal Defender Services of Idaho)

He said: “We, from the very beginning, try to be very candid and upfront that this isn't a do-it-at-any-cost process.

“Our first objective is to carry this out with dignity, professionalism and respect. And part of that was training and practising for the chance that they were unable to establish IV access."

Since then, Creech’s lawyers have been trying to save him from another execution attempt.

They want a judge to overturn his death sentence as a second go would be 'cruel and unusual’ and ‘tantamount to double jeopardy, which is unconstitutional’.

Idaho set anoth­er exe­cu­tion date for Creech in November, how­ev­er, a fed­er­al dis­trict court issued a stay of exe­cu­tion.

This was to allow for addi­tion­al time to con­sid­er his legal claims so for now, according to reports, he remains on death row.