Judges Denies Stay on Missouri Death Row Inmate Execution

A federal judge denied a stay order on the execution of Russell Bucklew, the Missouri death inmate, who will be the first to be put to death since the Oklahoma botched execution.

Lawyers of Bucklew appealed saying that he has a birth defect that causes tumors resulting in bleeding and difficulty in breathing. They said that the lethal dose might not circulate and Bucklew will choke to death making the execution unconstitutional.

"Mr Bucklew has a tumor growing in his face and head which causes him to experience bleeding, intense pain, and difficulty breathing," attorney Cheryl Pilate said in a statement, reports NBC News.

"This rare and congenital medical condition increases the significant likelihood that the lethal injection drugs will not circulate properly in Mr Bucklew's body and that he will hemorrhage and choke or suffocate to death due to his blocked airway."

Bucklew, a 46-year-old murder and rape convict, requested the court to videotape his execution as a proof of his suffering. The judge denied the plea. The U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips stated that the death row inmate would not be granted the stay because no alternative suggestions were put forth for the execution. He is scheduled for execution Wednesday morning.

His lawyers said they will appeal the verdict.

Cheryl argues that Missouri's rule to keep the source of lethal drugs secret might increase the chances of failed execution in Bucklew's case. "His complaint does not include any reference to a feasible and more humane alternative method of execution," she said. "Rather, the complaint appears to allege that there is currently no constitutional method of executing Bucklew."

The botched execution of 38-year-old Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma caught nationwide attention and raised questions over the lethal drugs used by the states that issue death penalty. Lockett, a rape and murder convict, was administered three untested combinations of lethal drugs April 29. He writhed and moaned in agony and eventually died of a massive heart attack 43 minutes later.

Last week, a federal appeals court in Texas halted execution of convicted rapist and murderer Robert Campbell. The judge also allowed him a fresh appeal ordering his lawyers to substantiate Campbell's mental incompetency claims. According to the lawyers, Campbell had an IQ of 69. Minimum threshold IQ set by courts is 70 and a 2002 Supreme Court ruling states that mentally challenged inmates will be barred from execution.

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