Could Rare Health Problem Stop Inmate Russell Bucklew’s Execution?

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 9 (Reuters) – A Missouri death row inmate wants to halt his execution because of a rare health condition his lawyers say would likely result in exceptional pain and possible suffocation.

Russell Bucklew, 45, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 21 for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders in southeast Missouri. But lawyers for Bucklew filed a lawsuit in federal court in Kansas City on Friday stating that he has a congenital condition called cavernous hemangioma that causes malformed vessels in his head and neck to grow and rupture under stress.

Lethal drugs injected into his body would likely circulate improperly, the lawsuit says, citing medical evaluations.

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