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May 21, 2014

Missouri Death Row Prisoner Wins Stay of Execution 
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A Missouri death row prisoner has won a stay of execution to avoid
becoming the first to be executed since Oklahoma's botched killing last
month. Russell Bucklew was scheduled to die by injection for killing a
Missouri man during a crime spree in 1996. Defense attorneys asked for a
stay because Bucklew suffers from a medical condition that causes
weakened and malformed blood vessels, as well as tumors in his nose and
throat. His attorneys said he could have experienced great suffering
during the execution process. On Tuesday night, just over an hour before
Bucklew was scheduled to die, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
issued an order halting the execution. Alito did not explain his
reasoning, but Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster issued a statement
indicating the full Supreme Court will consider the case on Wednesday.
Alito's move came after the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a stay
on the execution granted earlier in the day by a smaller panel of the
court. Bucklew could still be executed Wednesday night if the full
Supreme Court rejects his appeal.

 

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