The US state of Missouri has executed the death sentence against a convicted murderer. 51-year-old Russel Bucklew died after being injected with lethal blood.
It's the 17th execution in the US this year - and the first in Missouri since 2017.
Bucklew was convicted in 1996. On Valentine's Day that year, his girlfriend left him. Then she was harassed by Bucklew for weeks, attacked with a knife and beaten. Finally, she moved to her new partner.
In March 1996, Bucklew followed his ex-wife to her home. He had two pistols, handcuffs and tape. He killed the woman's new partner, then kidnapped and raped her. A court found him guilty of murder, rape and kidnapping. His lawyers said Bucklew regrets his actions.
Bucklew suffered in jail from vascular tumors that made his breathing difficult. A few months ago, a tracheal cannula had been introduced.
His lawyers argued that execution would threaten him with a cruel death: Bucklew could choke on his own blood should the tumors burst. They demanded that the death penalty be turned into life imprisonment. Human rights groups and four Catholic bishops of the State of Missouri joined. But the governor of Missouri, Republican Mike Parson, decided otherwise.
Supreme Court stopped the execution
The US Supreme Court had stopped Bucklew's execution because of his condition in 2014 and 2018. In April, however, the judges ruled in a concise and controversial ruling that the constitution did not guarantee "painless" execution for prisoners sentenced to death.
Bucklew's lawyer, Cheryl Pilate, said several steps have been taken to reduce the agony of execution. Bucklew get a sedative, also had the stretcher erected to prevent suffocation.
After the injection, Bucklew took a deep breath, then stopped moving. He showed no signs of pain.