Missouri Executes Felon Despite Medical Condition

The death penalty remains a contentious topic in U.S. politics. (Wikimedia Commons)

The State of Missouri executed Russell Bucklew on October 1 using lethal injection, despite a rare medical condition that made the injection risky and potentially incredibly painful. The execution proceeded after Missouri Governor Mike Parson declined Bucklew’s clemency request.

Bucklew was convicted of first-degree murder in 1997. Bucklew believed a man named Michael Sanders was the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Pruitt. Bucklew went to Sander’s home, where he believed Pruitt to be staying. Upon entering the house, Bucklew shot Sanders in front of Sanders’ and Pruitt’s children. Bucklew proceeded to rape and kidnap Pruitt, driving towards St. Louis before state troopers stopped him. 

Once in jail, Bucklew escaped by hiding in a garbage bag. He went to the home of Pruitt’s mother, hid in the pantry, and killed both Pruitt’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend by bludgeoning them with a hammer. The Circuit Court of Boone County found Bucklew guilty of first-degree murder, sentencing him to 95 years and the death penalty. 

Bucklew remained on death row until 2014, when the Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to review his case. Bucklew’s lawyers argued that cavernous hemangioma, a medical condition that causes tumors in the head, nose, and throat, would cause Bucklew to choke on his own blood after the injection. 

The Court did not agree with Bucklew’s lawyers. On April 1, 2019, the Court approved the execution in a 5-4 decision. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts found that Bucklew’s medical condition did not justify a stay of execution. In his opinion, Justice Roberts wrote, “Even if [other types of] execution were a feasible alternative… Mr. Bucklew has still failed to present any evidence suggesting that it would significantly reduce his risk of pain.”

The Court based the Bucklew decision off of precedent from two prior death-penalty cases. In Baze v. Rees (2008) the Court found that lethal injection did not inflict “unnecessary pain,” and was therefore constitutional. In the 2015 case Glossip v. Gross, the Court found that death row inmates may only argue for a different execution method if there are viable alternatives, and the current method causes excessive suffering. The Bucklew’s execution adds to the legal precedent of capital punishment. 

According to a May 2018 Gallup poll, 56 percent of Americans approve of the death penalty while 41 percent oppose it. Historically, support for capital punishment has waned since 1994 when 80 percent of Americans approved and 14 percent opposed it. As public support decreases, politicians and justices have come under increasing pressure to oppose executions such as Bucklew’s.