Missouri Execution Stayed by Supreme Court at Last Minute to Avoid Potential 'Irreparable Harm'
The execution for Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew was stayed indefinitely after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that there was simply too much risk involved in the execution. Bucklew was scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. last night and, up until a few hours before the procedure, fully believed the execution would be carried out.
"We conclude that there is a substantial likelihood that Bucklew will succeed on his claim that the current execution protocol as applied to him presents an 'objectively intolerable risk of harm' in that it is 'sure or very likely to cause … needless suffering,'" judges Michael Melloy and Kermit Bye wrote in their ruling.
Bucklew suffers from a medical condition that causes tumors in his face, head and throat that could rupture if touched or struck at all. That could cause painful bleeding and suffocation if the execution was not carried out in a very specific way, which the Missouri execution team had not studied or even put any money towards learning about.
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"The irreparable harm to Bucklew is great in comparison to the harm to the state from staying the execution," the justices wrote.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is determined to see Bucklew put to death for his crime, however.
"This guy committed very, very heinous crimes and while it's a difficult and challenging part of this job, we'll continue to move forward unless a court says otherwise," Nixon told the Associated Press.
The U.S. Supreme Court was involved in the decision to stay the execution, with Chief Justice Samuel Alito Jr. noting that the execution will be stayed "pending further order" from Alito or the entire Supreme Court.
Bucklew was terrified that the execution would go wrong and cause him suffering, especially after knowing what happened to the last man executed in Oklahoma.
"I'm sick about it not working on me," Bucklew told The Guardian. "I'm afraid that it's going to turn me into a vegetable, that I'd be brain dead. You saw what happened down in Oklahoma. I'm the next guy up – am I gonna get all screwed up here? Are they gonna screw it up?"
Bucklew's attorneys had requested that the execution be videotaped so that everyone may see what took place behind the blinds. The State of Missouri was "confident" in its procedure process but did not rule on whether the videotape would have been allowed.
"We are deeply relieved that the panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay of execution for Russell Bucklew, who faced substantial risk of a prolonged, torturous execution tonight due to his rare and serious medical condition," Cheryl Pilate, one of Bucklew's attroneys, said in a statement Tuesday night.
