[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI

[Rick Halperin]

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)


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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)