U.S. Supreme Court halts Bucklew execution

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday halted the execution of convicted murderer Russell Bucklew.

Less than six hours before Bucklew's death warrant was set to expire, the high court issued an order granting his application for a stay of execution pending appeal in the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The stay means Bucklew's legal team will have the opportunity to argue their claim that a rare medical condition could lead to a prolonged, painful and potentially bloody execution, in violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments.

Bucklew, 46, initially had been scheduled for lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. He was convicted in 1997 of the murder of Michael Sanders of Cape Girardeau County.

"The court is just staying this so that the lower court can look at this more fully," said Mike O'Connell, communications director for the Missouri Department of Public Safety. " ... I think what the court has said is that they want the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to examine specific aspects of this case in more detail."

The stay followed several days of legal wrangling between Bucklew's attorneys and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's office.

At issue is whether Bucklew's illness -- a rare condition called cavernous hemangioma that causes weakened blood vessels and vascular tumors in his nose, mouth and throat that obstruct his airways -- is likely to complicate his execution.

An Emory University medical professor who reviewed Bucklew's medical records has said the inmate's tumors could rupture, causing him to choke to death on his own blood; the lethal drug, pentobarbital, could fail to circulate properly in his compromised vascular system; or the pentobarbital could interact with drugs he takes for his condition, prolonging his death and causing severe pain.

The stay will give the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals time to review those concerns, O'Connell said.

"We will let this legal process go forward," O'Connell said, noting last-minute stays are not unprecedented. "This does happen where a court will say, 'We want to look at this again.'"

In a joint statement emailed to media outlets Wednesday evening, Bucklew's attorneys, Cheryl Pilate and Lindsay Runnels, said they were "extremely pleased and relieved" by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision.

"Today's stay of execution will give the lower federal courts time to consider Mr. Bucklew's claim that his execution would violate his rights under the Eighth Amendment to be free from cruel and unusual punishment," they wrote.

Bucklew's death warrant, issued by the Missouri Supreme Court, was valid until midnight Wednesday, but about 6:30 p.m., after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, Department of Corrections officials dismissed the people who had been scheduled to witness the execution, including members of Bucklew's and Sanders' families; law enforcement officers; media representatives; and state Rep. Paul Fitzwater.

Bucklew's death sentence remains in effect, O'Connell said.

He said Bucklew refused breakfast and lunch Wednesday, so had the execution gone forward, his last meal would have been the T-bone steak, baked potato, Caesar salad and apple pie a la mode he requested for dinner Tuesday night.

Authorities moved Bucklew from the Potosi Correctional Center in Potosi, Missouri, to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre for his planned execution.

He was placed in a private cell about 50 feet from the death chamber, where he had access to a telephone and made several calls Wednesday, including some to his attorneys, O'Connell said.

Bucklew will be taken back to Potosi at a later date, which O'Connell declined to specify, citing security concerns.

Before the high court issued its ruling Wednesday, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan -- waiting in a sequestered area with other state witnesses -- reflected on Bucklew's sentence.

"No one should ever take pleasure in another person's demise, but at the same time, he deprived someone of life," Jordan said. " ... The justice in this country says you can receive the death penalty, and in this case, I think that's appropriate."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, Bonne Terre, MO