October 1
MISSOURI----impending execution
Missouri governor denies clemency in execution case
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied clemency for a convicted killer hours
before the man is scheduled to be put to death.
Russell Bucklew has a rare medical condition that his attorneys have said could
result in a gruesome execution, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Defense attorney Cheryl Pilate confirmed Parson denied clemency.
Bucklew was convicted of killing Michael Sanders in 1996.
He suffers from cavernous hemangioma. He has blood-filled tumors in his head,
neck and throat. A permanent tracheostomy in his throat helps him breathe. His
attorneys said in the clemency request that if one of the throat tumors bursts,
Bucklew could choke to death.
The U.S. Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the execution in April; Pilate
didn't say if any last-minute court appeals are planned.
(source: Associated Press)
***************
Governor won't grant clemency in Bucklew execution
Man scheduled to die Tuesday night
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will not interfere with the scheduled execution of a
man convicted of murder.
Parson's office said he has declined to grant clemency to Russell Bucklew, who
is scheduled to be executed Tuesday. Bucklew's lawyers have argued his
execution would be unconstitutional because of a rare condition that could
cause him severe pain during the execution.
He is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Potosi
Correctional Center in eastern Missouri.
Bucklew's execution date has been moved three times but stopped over concerns
about his medical condition. The condition causes blood-filled tumors to grow
in his head, neck and throat. Bucklew has argued the throat tumor could burst
during the execution, causing him to choke on his own blood.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in April that the state could go forward
with the execution.
Activists are set to protest at the governor's office in the Missouri Capitol
at noon Tuesday. A demonstration is also scheduled at the Boone County
Courthouse at 5 p.m.
A Boone County jury convicted Bucklew of first-degree murder, kidnapping and
first degree burglary and recommended the death sentence, court documents show.
The case out of Cape Girardeau County was heard in Columbia on a change of
venue.
Bucklew was accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend's presumed new
boyfriend, Michael Sanders, and firing at Sanders' son, 6, before kidnapping
her. After raping his ex-girlfriend, he engaged in a gunfight with authorities,
during which Bucklew and a Missouri state trooper were injured, according to
court documents.
(source: ABC News)
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