93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether lethal injection would be a cruel form of execution for Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew.
His attorney, Robert Hochman, says a tumor in Bucklew’s throat could rupture, causing his client to suffocate.
“Nothing in the record indicates they would check Mr. Bucklew’s airway. Nothing in the record indicates they normally would monitor an inmate’s respiration. Nothing in the record suggests they would have the equipment present in the room to deal with an airway collapse,” Hochman says, according to Missourinet.
John Sauer with the state says Bucklew is just trying to put off his execution.
“Missouri’s single-drug protocol using pentobarbital is the most humane and effective way of execution that is currently known. Missouri has used it 20 times without any significant incident,” Sauer says, according to Missourinet.
Bucklew was convicted of killing a man in Cape Girardeau in 1996.
