WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court blocked the execution of a convicted Missouri murderer Wednesday evening rather than risk another in what has become a series of botched lethal injections.
The ruling marks a stark reversal from the court’s practice of denying last-minute appeals by death-row inmates. That may indicate that a majority of justices are concerned about a shortage of drugs that has forced states to rely on unregulated compounding pharmacies. Some states have refused to say where they get their drugs or specify which drugs are used.
Lawyers and a doctor for Russell Bucklew, 46, convicted in the 1996 murder of a man who lived with his ex-girlfriend as well as her rape and kidnapping, had argued that a birth defect that affects his veins would lead to unconstitutional pain and suffering.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito halted the process late Tuesday night, giving both sides the opportunity to file arguments on the day of Bucklew’s scheduled execution. Alito’s action followed a decision by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to let the execution go forward.
