A federal lawsuit filed by two of Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmates is challenging the state’s newly enacted firing squad execution law on constitutional grounds, while an advocacy group has taken its opposition directly to the public with a billboard campaign in Boise.

The Lawsuit

Thomas Creech and Gerald Ross Pizzuto Jr. filed suit against Idaho corrections officials, arguing the firing squad statute violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on their religious rights. A central claim in the case concerns the ability of spiritual advisors to maintain physical contact with condemned inmates during an execution — something the plaintiffs argue the state’s firing squad procedures do not allow.

Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, a spiritual advisor involved in the case, put it plainly: “A spiritual advisor has a constitutional right. The condemned have a constitutional right to have their spiritual advisor touching them during the execution.”

Idaho’s procedure calls for a three-member firing squad and two alternate shooters using .308 caliber rifles. The condemned inmate has the option of receiving a mild sedative before the execution is carried out.

The state has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office maintains that the firing squad is constitutionally sound. No ruling on the motion to dismiss has been issued as of this reporting.

Who Is Suing and Why

Creech has been on Idaho’s death row for more than four decades, convicted in connection with the 1981 murder of a fellow inmate. He was the subject of a failed execution attempt in February 2024, when the execution team was unable to establish intravenous access — a breakdown that drew national attention and accelerated the state’s move toward the firing squad as its primary method.

Pizzuto was sentenced to death for the 1985 killings of two people near McCall, Idaho. His execution has been delayed repeatedly over the years due to ongoing litigation and health concerns.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office, which has taken an active posture in defending Idaho law in federal court across a range of high-profile cases, is now pressing for dismissal of the inmates’ claims.

Public Advocacy Enters the Picture

Alongside the legal fight, the Execution Intervention Project unveiled a billboard in Boise urging Idaho not to carry out an execution by firing squad. The sign specifically references Creech by name, reading: “Idaho, Don’t Shoot Tom Creech.”

Randy Gardner, associated with the advocacy effort, voiced broader opposition to the death penalty itself. “One of my biggest concerns is — it’s very barbaric. I don’t think we should be executing any of our citizens,” he said.

The campaign represents an effort to shift public sentiment at the same time the legal challenge works its way through the courts, a dual-track approach that capital punishment opponents have used in other states navigating similar debates over execution methods.

Legal and Political Context

Idaho’s decision to adopt the firing squad as its primary execution method followed the 2024 failure to execute Creech by lethal injection, which exposed logistical and procedural vulnerabilities in the state’s existing protocol. Lawmakers moved to establish a more reliable method, and the firing squad statute was the result.

Idaho has not shied away from courtroom confrontations over its criminal justice and social policies in recent years. The state’s legal team has defended a range of statutes in federal court, from abortion restrictions to women’s sports protections — the latter of which resulted in a Supreme Court victory earlier this year after years of litigation.

Whether the firing squad lawsuit will follow a similar path remains to be seen. The federal judge assigned to the case has yet to signal how or when the motion to dismiss will be resolved, leaving both inmates’ legal futures and Idaho’s execution protocol in a period of judicial uncertainty.