Supreme Court Halts Missouri Execution and Sends Case Back to Appeals Court

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The United States Supreme Court indefinitely halted the execution of a Missouri man on Wednesday and sent his case back to a federal appellate court to hear his appeal.

The man, Russell Bucklew, 46, had argued that he would suffer great pain if he were killed by a lethal injection because of his rare vascular disease. His lawyers also raised concerns over the compounded drugs used in executions by the state and said the secrecy surrounding the state's execution protocols would further increase the risk that he would suffer a torturous death.

The Supreme Court's order prevented Missouri from going forward with the execution as it had wanted to on Wednesday night. The court did not give a reason for granting the stay, but left it up to the appellate court to determine whether to hold a hearing on Mr. Bucklew's case.

'We're extremely pleased and relieved,' said Cheryl A. Pilate, one of the lawyers for Mr. Bucklew. 'In fact, we're elated.'

The decision comes after a roller-coaster day on Tuesday in which a three-judge federal appellate panel halted Mr. Bucklew's execution, only to have the full appeals court overrule that decision before Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. issued a stay within two hours of the scheduled execution.

Mr. Bucklew's case is playing out at a time of increased scrutiny after a botched execution in Oklahoma and disputes in multiple states over the drugs used to put inmates to death. Mr. Bucklew's execution was to be the first in the country since an Oklahoma inmate, Clayton D. Lockett, appeared to regain consciousness and writhe in pain before eventually dying of a heart attack during his execution last month.

Lawyers for Mr. Bucklew argued that his rare medical condition, cavernous hemangioma, which has caused blood vessel deformities and tumors in his face and neck, would cause him a painful death. Medical specialists hired by Mr. Bucklew's lawyers said that he could choke and suffocate during the procedure. Mr. Bucklew had even requested to have his execution filmed, but the request was denied.

A lower court said Monday that Mr. Bucklew had not demonstrated a high likelihood of a problematic execution, but the three-judge panel of the federal appeals court disagreed Tuesday and criticized the State of Missouri for resisting efforts to get Mr. Bucklew tested medically.

A larger panel of the court then took up the case and, just hours later, told Missouri officials that the execution could proceed. Gov. Jay Nixon then denied a clemency petition, but the evening ended when Justice Alito issued a one-line decision halting the execution so the Supreme Court could consider the case.

Mr. Bucklew was convicted of the 1996 killing of a man in front of his children. He shot at one of the children, according to court records, and then bound and raped his ex-girlfriend, who was staying with the man. He got into a shootout with police officers before he was caught. Mr. Bucklew escaped from jail before his trial and attacked his ex-girlfriend's mother with a hammer, records said.