ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri man was executed Tuesday for killing a man during a violent 1996 crime spree, despite concerns that the inmate’s rare medical condition would cause a gruesome lethal injection.
Russell Bucklew was executed at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It was Missouri’s first execution since January 2017.
He had a condition called cavernous hemangioma and had blood-filled tumors in his head, neck and throat. He breathed with help from a tracheostomy tube.
Bucklew’s attorneys said in a clemency request to Gov. Mike Parson that a throat tumor could burst, causing Bucklew to choke and die painfully and in violation of the constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment.
Parson denied the request for clemency.
