Cruel & Unusual? No Worries, the Supreme Court Has Your Back

jthomas666

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Sweet Jesus.

The facts of Bucklew are simple and unconverted. Russell Bucklew was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by the state of Missouri. Bucklew has a rare medical condition that would make lethal injection extremely painful for him before he died. He challenged his death sentence under Eighth Amendment prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. Nobody disputes that the lethal injection would cause Bucklew quite a bit of pain, due to his condition.

Despite that, the lower courts ruled against him, and today, the Supreme Court did so as well. Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch held that “The Eighth Amendment forbids ‘cruel and unusual’ methods of capital punishment but does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death.”

If that were the end of it, the opinion would just be another blood stain in our sad jurisprudence of death. Unknown numbers of innocent people have been executed in this country since the death penalty was reinstated. Untold numbers of guilty people have known the spiteful vengeance some people mistake for justice. Through it all, the Eighth Amendment sits on the sidelines, a grand idea neutered by our society’s rage and cowardice, waiting for better men and women to live up to its noble promise.

But Neil Gorsuch is not a better man. Instead of just killing the murderer and being done with it, Gorsuch could not resist seeing the Bucklew case as an opportunity to experiment with justifications of the state’s right to inflict suffering that have long been discarded by decent people.
 

Bazza

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Never heard of the guy - but found this background info:

Forty-nine-year-old Russell is convicted of killing 27-year-old Michael Sanders on March 21, 1996, at Hickory Hollow trailer park in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Russell also kidnapped, beat, and raped 21-year-old Stephanie Pruitt.

Russell Bucklew, a former electrician, met Stephanie Pruitt in the summer 1995, while she was married to another man, with whom she had two children. By fall of 1995, Stephanie was divorced and dating Bucklew, whom she knew as Rusty. Around Christmas, Stephanie discovered she was pregnant, however, she lost the baby on Valentine's Day and the relationship between Stephanie and Bucklew was over. Stephanie claims they broke up and Bucklew moved back into his parent's house. Bucklew said they just needed a few days apart to cool off.

When Bucklew returned, he discovered that Michael Sanders was now living with Stephanie in Bucklew’s trailer. Bucklew was furious and put a knife to Mike's throat, telling him to get out or he would kill him. Stephanie moved in with Mike a few days later.

Stephanie and Bucklew had another confrontation when she retrieved some of her clothes from Bucklew's trailer. Stephanie, chained to a bed, agreed to meet Bucklew on March 21, 1996, and leave with him. Bucklew let her go. On March 21, 1996, Bucklew, after stealing guns, handcuffs, duct tape, and a car from his cousin, secretly followed and watched Stephanie all day. His goal was to catch her with Mike. When he saw return to Mike's trailer, he decided that she was not going to meet him and decided to kill Mike and kidnap her.

Bucklew knocked on the door of Mike's trailer. Six-year-old John Michael and 4-year-old Zach were playing Super Nintendo when they heard the knock. John Michael unlocked the door, at which time, Bucklew kicked the door in. He was armed with a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a .22 caliber revolver, extra ammunition, and holsters for the guns which were strapped to his body, two knives, two sets of handcuffs, a pair of rubber gloves, and a roll of silver duct tape.

Michael exited the bedroom where he had been talking with Stephanie about Bucklew. Stephanie's father had loaned them a shotgun, but Michael barely knew how to use it. Nonetheless, he took it with him to confront Bucklew. Michael ordered his kids to the bedroom. Bucklew, furious that Michael had a weapon, shot Michael four times. All four bullets passed through the body.

Bucklew handcuffed Stephanie and took her with him. While handcuffing Stephanie, John Michael ensured that he and his brother were hiding. After hearing Bucklew drive away, the kids remained hiding for a time before emerging. John Michael and Zach were with their father as he died. John Michael later testified and identified Bucklew as the man who killed his father.

Bucklew forced Stephanie to perform several sexual acts, eventually raping her. Bucklew, with Stephanie in the vehicle, later got into a high speed chase with the police, which ended with him being shot and captured.


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Generally speaking I'm against the death penalty - but there are some exceptions.I don't know what to think about the situation you posted here, J Thomas. Certainly as a society we should proceed with humane enforcement of our laws.

I wonder what is meant by "
cause Bucklew quite a bit of pain, due to his condition"?
 

jthomas666

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Generally speaking I'm against the death penalty - but there are some exceptions.I don't know what to think about the situation you posted here, J Thomas. Certainly as a society we should proceed with humane enforcement of our laws.
I wonder what is meant by "[/FONT][/COLOR]cause Bucklew quite a bit of pain, due to his condition"?
From a Slate article:

Russell Bucklew is a death row inmate in Missouri who suffers from a rare medical condition called cavernous hemangioma. Due to this disorder, his body is covered with tumors filled with blood vessels. Tumors in Bucklew’s neck and throat, his lips and uvula, which make it difficult for him to breathe. They are highly sensitive and frequently squirt blood. A medical expert, Dr. Joel Zivot, has testified that if Missouri administers a lethal injection to Bucklew, he will die a slow, agonizing death. His tumors will rupture and fill his mouth with blood, and he will suffocate to death in unbearable pain, choking and convulsing on the gurney as he dies.
The Slate article also examines the tortured logic underlying the decision.
 

Crimson1967

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Some states have brought back the electric chair as an option due to concerns over lethal injection.


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AlexanderFan

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I’m thinking if the death penalty is going to cause you pain you probably shouldn’t go around raping and murdering people. There are certain cases that deserve our mercy as a society, I don’t think this is one. I’m sure he would object to being carried out back and a bullet put in his head as well.


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jthomas666

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I’m thinking if the death penalty is going to cause you pain you probably shouldn’t go around raping and murdering people. There are certain cases that deserve our mercy as a society, I don’t think this is one. I’m sure he would object to being carried out back and a bullet put in his head as well.
From the Slate article linked in my last post:

To forestall this fate, Bucklew sought to block his execution by lethal injection, arguing that it would violate the Eighth Amendment’s bar against “cruel and unusual punishments.” Under two Supreme Court precedents, Baze v. Rees and Glossip v. Gross, an inmate challenging his method of execution must provide an “available alternative” that will cause less pain.

Bucklew asked to be killed with nitrogen gas so that he can die from “hypoxia,” a lack of oxygen, because his death from hypoxia would be faster than his death from lethal injection.
 

jthomas666

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ny...th/death-penalty-nitrogen-executions.amp.html
It’s unproven and protocols haven’t been developed as of May 2018.
It's well established that you will die without oxygen.

I get it--Bucklew's an animal and you're not going to lose any sleep if he suffers. I'd like to think that we as a society are better than Bucklew.

More troubling, though, is the "reasoning" behind the ruling. Gorsuch raises the bar on what constitutes "cruel and unusual" to an absurd level.
 

Bazza

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I admit I don't know that much about the lethal injection technical aspects.

I know when an animal is euthanized, it's actually given an anesthesia first - and then the actual drug that kills it.

Seems like that's how we should do it with humans.

The fact that there are people who don't care about the comfort of a convicted murderer, kidnapper, and rapist is telling.
 

rgw

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Seems like the easiest solution here is to get rid of the death penalty
I tend to agree. Part of me wants the retribution for awful crimes but the reality is that there is nothing that will correct for the wrong someone on death row has done. Might as well leave that judgement to their maker.
 

AlexanderFan

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It's well established that you will die without oxygen.

I get it--Bucklew's an animal and you're not going to lose any sleep if he suffers. I'd like to think that we as a society are better than Bucklew.

More troubling, though, is the "reasoning" behind the ruling. Gorsuch raises the bar on what constitutes "cruel and unusual" to an absurd level.
You die painfully. That’s what he is trying to avoid is the painful part. There aren’t guidelines and protocols in place to prevent that from happening using that method yet. Hell, they’ve been using lethal injection for years and still screw it up, but you’re willing to just let them wing it for him?


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jthomas666

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You die painfully. That’s what he is trying to avoid is the painful part. There aren’t guidelines and protocols in place to prevent that from happening using that method yet. Hell, they’ve been using lethal injection for years and still screw it up, but you’re willing to just let them wing it for him?
Evidence suggests that death by nitrogen hypoxia is painless.
 

Bodhisattva

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Seems like the easiest solution here is to get rid of the death penalty
While I don't have a problem with the death penalty theoretically, my position on this has shifted over the years to where I would prefer to get rid of it in practice. It's application is not fair as the harshest punishments fall on the poor and minorities. Also, it is ridiculously expensive to pursue the death penalty to conclusion. Put crudely, a murderous thug (who is guilty without a doubt) isn't worth the additional treasure required for the DP. Let him rot in jail on the (relative) cheap.
 

jthomas666

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I admit I don't know that much about the lethal injection technical aspects.
I know when an animal is euthanized, it's actually given an anesthesia first - and then the actual drug that kills it.
Seems like that's how we should do it with humans.
That is, in fact, how they do it--they generally use a strong sedative to induce unconsciousness, then another drug to cause respiratory arrest, and then a third to stop the heart.

One problem states are running into is that many drug manufacturers are unwilling to sell the drugs for use in executions--The EU passed a ban against selling sodium thiopental, commonly used as the first administered drug.
 

crimsonaudio

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I'm against the death penalty for the most part, but it has nothing to do with whether a guilty person suffers during the execution.

In this case, toss a rope into his cell a week before his scheduled execution so he has an option. His call.
 

cbi1972

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You die painfully. That’s what he is trying to avoid is the painful part. There aren’t guidelines and protocols in place to prevent that from happening using that method yet. Hell, they’ve been using lethal injection for years and still screw it up, but you’re willing to just let them wing it for him?
Evidence suggests that death by nitrogen hypoxia is painless.
It is carbon dioxide that is toxic and stress-inducing.

People die of physiologically inert gas hypoxia accidentally with little to no distress or warning.

It should be trivially easy to induce unconsciousness and subsequently death with a mask or sealed chamber WITHOUT exotic chemicals that are expensive, or difficult to produce. Nitrogen is the most common element in our atmosphere, and is the most logical candidate.

If there aren't protocols, it is because there isn't sufficient incentive to develop protocols in timely fashion for this. Even so, that hasn't stopped Oklahoma.

If we are committed to executions at all, it is shameful that such an obviously superior method of execution has not been implemented.
 

skrayper77

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Bucklew forced Stephanie to perform several sexual acts, eventually raping her.
So he raped her, then raped her again.

The very first involuntary "sexual act" is rape.
 

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