IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT  WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI CENTRAL DIVISION

RUSSELL BUCKLEW, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 14-CV-8000-BP ) GEORGE A. LOMBARDI, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

SUGGESTIONS IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF RUSSELL BUCKLEW’S MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER  AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION, AND BUCKLEW’S MOTION FOR STAY OF EXECUTION Case Summary

Russell Bucklew appears to have serious medical issues that Bucklew claims place him at a higher risk of pain from an execution than an ordinary healthy person. The State asserts that Bucklew is not entitled to a stay because 1) he has no significant possibility of success on the claims in his underlying suit, and 2) he has delayed bringing his suit until less than two weeks before his scheduled execution even though he has known about his medical condition and his pending execution for years. While the State does not find Bucklew’s argument to have merit, it recognizes that this Court may consider Bucklew’s alleged higher risk when deciding whether to grant the equitable remedy of a stay of execution.

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2  A jury found Russell Bucklew guilty of the first-degree murder of Michael Sanders and recommended a sentence of death. The trial court sentenced Bucklew to death. The facts of the underlying case are as follows: Stephanie Ray broke up with Russell Bucklew on Valentine’s Day 1996, and he moved out of her home.

State v. Bucklew

, 973 S.W. 2d 83, 86 (Mo. 1998). Bucklew returned to Ray’s home on March 6, found Michael Sanders there, put a knife to Sanders’s throat, and threatened to kill Sanders if Sanders came back.

Id

. Later that evening, Bucklew returned, threatened Ray with a knife, cut her  jaw, and punched her in the face.

Id

. The next day Bucklew called Ray at work and promised to kill her and her children if he saw her with Sanders again.

Id

. Ray feared returning to her own home and moved in with Sanders.

Id

. On the night of March 20-21, Bucklew stole a car, two pistols, two sets of handcuffs, and a roll of duct tape.

Id

. On March 21, he followed Ray from work as she ran errands, and discovered where she lived by following her to Sanders’s home.

Id

. Bucklew later came to Sanders’s home and shot Sanders twice, killing him.

Id

. Bucklew also shot at Sanders’s six-year-old son but missed.

Id

. Bucklew pistol-whipped Ray, handcuffed her hands behind her back,

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3 dragged her to the stolen car, and drove off.

Id

. Bucklew raped Ray in the back seat of the car then resumed his journey.

Id

. Police captured Bucklew after a gunfight in which Bucklew and a police officer were both wounded.

Id

. at 87. Bucklew escaped from jail before trial and attacked Ray’s mother and Ray’s mother’s fiancé with a hammer.

 Bucklew v. Luebbers

, 436 F.3d 1010, 1014 (8th Cir. 1996). Bucklew now alleges this Court should stay his execution because he suffers from a medical condition, cavernous hemangiomas, which create a greater risk of pain during his execution than an ordinary healthy person would suffer. Bucklew criticizes the Department of Corrections for not running various tests to determine the extent of the risk and suggests changes he would like the Department to make in the execution protocol in his case. Bucklew has known about his medical condition for decades. The Missouri Supreme Court sustained a motion to set his execution date approximately six years ago, and indicated it would set a date in due course.  A complaint that Bucklew’s execution should be stayed for testing that cannot be completed before his scheduled execution is untimely. Further, Bucklew has not really alleged a feasible more humane alternative method of execution, so his Eighth Amendment claim fails as a matter of law. This Court already rejected Bucklew’s remaining claims in the

Zink

case, in which

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