On Thursday, July 25, 2024, Idaho Reports reported that Thomas Creech, an inmate on Idaho’s death row, claimed in a recent court filing that Judge Amanda Brailsford should have recused herself from a case related to Creech’s execution due to her ties to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.

Creech, age 73, has been incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution since 1983 after being convicted of the 1981 murder of fellow inmate David Jensen. Jensen’s death marked the fifth murder conviction for Creech. In February 2024, the Idaho Department of Correction halted Creech’s scheduled execution after medical staff were unable to establish an intravenous line to administer lethal injection.

Following the failed execution attempt, Creech’s attorneys filed a complaint regarding Judge Brailsford’s impartiality in a case related to Creech’s request for an injunction against his execution in late February. The filing pointed to Brailsford’s previous indication in her 2023 Senate confirmation questionnaire that she had only recused herself from one prior case during her time as a state judge around four years earlier because a party had sued Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, whom Brailsford called a “personal friend.”

Bennetts spoke glowingly of Brailsford at the judge’s 2019 investiture ceremony for her appointment to Idaho’s federal bench, referring to Brailsford as an “incredibly fortunate” friend for whom she “would drop everything” to assist. Both Brailsford and Bennetts previously clerked for Ninth Circuit Court Judge Thomas Nelson from 1993 to 1994. However, Brailsford maintained in her July 8 response to the recusal request that she and Bennetts lost touch after their clerkship and have not pursued a personal friendship.

Brailsford acknowledged occasionally seeing Bennetts at legal events like Idaho State Bar meetings but denied their encounters were planned or that they spent time together socially. She argued her impartiality was not compromised. The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office defended Brailsford, saying judges must make difficult ethical decisions and convicted criminals often attack the legal system.

Creech’s attorneys also claimed in their filings that Deputy Prosecutor Jill Longhurst presented false information about Creech’s alleged involvement in an uncharged 1974 murder during his commutation hearing in January 2024. They alleged the prosecution misled the Commission when implying Creech was responsible for the death and “got away with it,” in violation of his right to due process.

The filing requests a new commutation hearing, asserting the previous process was unconstitutional.

 

 

Source: Idaho Reports