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#Post#: 389--------------------------------------------------
~ Russell Bucklew, 01Oct19, (MO) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: September 22, 2019, 1:56 am
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Missouri inmate scheduled to be executed in October--
June 25, 2019
[IMG]
HTML http://test-missourideathrowcom.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/Photos/6a00d8345233fa69e2010536ac66ed970c-800wi.jpg[/img]
The Missouri Supreme Court has set an October 1 execution date
for Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew. Earlier this year, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled against Bucklew’s argument that the state’s
lethal injection drug would cause him cruel and unusual
punishment because of his rare brain condition.
He was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of
his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, Michael Sanders of southeast
Missouri’s Cape Girardeau. Bucklew shot Sanders to death in
front of his 6-year-old son, three other children and his
ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Ray.
He then handcuffed Ray and dragged her out of the house. Bucklew
took her to a remote area and raped her in the back seat of a
car.
Many law enforcement officers were out searching for Bucklew. By
the time the ex-couple made it to St. Louis, a state trooper and
Bucklew exchanged gunfire. The 49-year-old survived two bullets
in the shootout – one to the chest and one to the head.
Once Bucklew was in jail, he called Ray’s mother and threatened
to kill her. Three months after entering jail, he became the
first person in 15 years to escape from the Cape Girardeau
County Jail. Bucklew fled by hiding in a trash bag that was
later taken to a dumpster.
When Bucklew escaped, he went straight after Ray’s mother,
Barbara Pruitt. He went to her home, armed with a hammer, and
struck her over the head several times. Pruitt’s fiancé
intervened and was also whacked over the head with the hammer.
Both victims managed to survive.
Bucklew fled in a stolen a car and was captured about 30 minutes
later by law enforcement.
The execution is scheduled to take place at the maximum security
prison in southeast Missouri’s Bonne Terre.
8)
#Post#: 395--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Russell Bucklew, 01Oct19, (MO) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: September 30, 2019, 2:40 am
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State of Missouri v. Russell E. Bucklew
973 S.W. 2d 83 (Mo.banc 1998)
Case Facts: Russell Bucklew apparently did not want to live
apart from Stephanie Ray. The two had lived together in Cape
Girardeau County until Ray decided to break up with Bucklew on
Valentine’s Day, 1996. Bucklew left their mobile home and went
to live with his parents.
On March 6, Bucklew returned to the trailer he had shared with
Ray, found Michael Sanders, the victim in this case, there,
concluded that Sanders and Ray were romantically involved, put a
knife to Sanders’s throat and threatened to kill Sanders if
Sanders ever came back to Ray’s trailer. Later that same
evening, Bucklew returned to the trailer, found Ray alone,
threatened her with a knife, cut her jaw, and punched her in the
face before leaving. Ray reported all of this to the police.
Bucklew called Ray at work the following day, March 7. He
threatened her again and promised to kill her, Sanders, and her
children if he saw her with Sanders again. Ray moved in with
Sanders, fearing to return to her own home.
Sometime during the night of March 20-21, Bucklew stole his
nephew’s car, two of his brother’s pistols, two sets of his
brother’s handcuffs, and a roll of duct tape. He left a note
asking his family not to report his theft to the police. By the
afternoon of March 21, Bucklew began surreptitiously following
Ray as she left work and ran errands, ultimately discovering
where she lived by following her to Sanders trailer. Bucklew
waited for some period of time before he knocked on Sander’s
trailer door. One of Sander’s children opened the door. Sanders
saw Bucklew through the window , escorted the children to a back
bedroom and grabbed a shotgun. Bucklew entered the trailer with
a pistol in each hand. Sanders came into the hallway carrying a
shotgun. Bucklew yelled “get down” and without further warning
began shooting at Sanders. Sanders fell, struck by two bullets,
one of which entered his chest and tore through his lung.
Sanders dropped the shotgun. It went off and blew a hole in the
trailer wall.
Bucklew aimed the gun at Sanders’s head but when he saw Sander’s
six-year-old son. Bucklew fired at the boy instead. The shot
missed.
Ray stepped between Bucklew and Sanders, who was holding his
chest as he slumped against the wall. Bucklew invited Ray to
drop to her knees. When she delayed, he struck her face with the
pistol. He produced handcuffs, handcuffed her hands behind her
back and dragged her to the car. The two drove away.
During the journey that followed, Bucklew demanded sex. When all
of the acts he demanded were not performed, Bucklew raped Ray in
the back seat of the car. Resuming the journey, Bucklew drove
north on Interstate 55.
By this time law enforcement authorities had broadcast a
description of the Bucklew car. Trooper James Hedrich saw the
car, called for assistance, and began following Bucklew. They
ultimately apprehended Bucklew after a gunfight in which both a
trooper and Bucklew were wounded by gunshot.
Michael Sanders bled to death from his wounds.
#Post#: 396--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Russell Bucklew, 01Oct19, (MO) ~
DIR By: BuzzC
Date: October 1, 2019, 10:56 pm
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Missouri executes man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend's
lover--
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Missouri on Tuesday executed a man convicted of killing his
ex-girlfriend's lover more than 20 years ago, local media
reported, after a court rejected his argument 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.
The Missouri Department of Corrections did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
KFVS news anchor Kathy Sweeney witnessed Bucklew's execution and
said there were no complications.
"His feet were twitching under the sheets, there was a sigh and
then no more movement," Sweeney said in a broadcast.
Bucklew said 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.
He 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 ruled 5-4 against Bucklew in April.
Bucklew was the first inmate in Missouri to be executed since
January 2017 and the 17th inmate executed in the United States
in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson denied Bucklew's request for
clemency just a few hours before he was executed.
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