UPDATE 2-Missouri executes man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend's boyfriend - media


Reuters | Missouri | Updated: 02-10-2019 05:32 IST | Created: 02-10-2019 05:30 IST
UPDATE 2-Missouri executes man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend's boyfriend - media
Image Credit: ANI
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Missouri executed a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's lover more than 20 years ago on Tuesday, media reported, after a court rejected his argument that he faced cruel and unusual punishment because of a rare medical condition that would make lethal injection severely painful. Russell Bucklew, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. CDT at the state's death chamber in Bonne Terre for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders, shortly after he moved in with Bucklew's ex-girlfriend Stephanie Ray, CBS affiliate KFVS12 reported.

Bucklew had said that lethal injection might inflict undue pain by rupturing blood-filled tumors on his face, head, neck and throat caused by a rare congenital condition called cavernous hemangioma. Bucklew argued that would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court however ruled 5-4 against Bucklew last April.

Bucklew was the first inmate in Missouri to be executed since January 2017. Bucklew was also the 17th inmate executed in the United States in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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