BOISE, Idaho >> Idaho will begin using central veins deep in the groin, neck, chest or arm for executions by lethal injection if attempts to insert standard IV lines fail, the Idaho Department of Correction announced Tuesday.

Using a central venous line — which involves threading a catheter through deep veins until it reaches a location near the heart — has long been a backup plan under the state’s official execution policy, but it has never been used because prison officials said the execution chamber was not designed in a way to protect the subject’s dignity during the process of inserting the line.

In February, the attempted execution of Thomas Eugene Creech, a man on death row, failed after the execution team was unable to establish a peripheral IV line, close to the surface of the skin, despite trying eight times in several veins in his arms and legs. Creech’s defense attorneys have sought to prevent a second attempt on the grounds that it would amount to cruel and unusual punishment and amount to double jeopardy. A state judge dismissed those arguments in September.

The failed execution attempt prompted the state to begin renovating its execution chamber to add a room where a doctor can insert a central venous line.

Many states, including Texas and Oklahoma, do not allow execution witnesses to see the insertion of IVs or central venous catheters, carrying out the procedures in areas that are hidden from view.