Death penalty deserves judges' scrutiny

The death penalty issue is a divisive one, obviously.

The ultimate punishment has been in the local news a lot recently, as killer and rapist Russell Bucklew faced being executed via injection.

As with many death-penalty cases, Bucklew's has gone through several rounds of legal appeals. On the very date he was to be executed, the courts went back and forth several times. On, then off, then on, then off again, the last decision coming two hours before he was to be put to death.

If you haven't been paying attention to the story, Bucklew's case has been sent by the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted a stay of the execution, to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for more consideration of Bucklew's medical condition, which could, his attorney's argue, result in a very painful and bloody situation as he is dying. The issue of cruel and unusual punishment is at stake, and Bucklew's medical condition has raised enough doubt for the courts to look at the matter more closely.

The overwhelming response in online commentary and responses is Bucklew deserves to die. Get on with it, already, seems to be the popular opinion. Bucklew, many argue, deserves to die a painful death after the horrible crimes he committed.

It is unarguable that Bucklew committed horrible atrocities. In effect, he was a terrorist. He threatened and stalked his former girlfriend, eventually raping her. He killed a man in front of his two young sons, who to this day carry emotional scars of Bucklew's crimes. He escaped from prison, hid in a cupboard and attacked people with a hammer. He led police on a chase up through St. Louis. If you're a believer in the death penalty, Bucklew certainly earned it. There is no doubt about his guilt.

But we would argue the death penalty is not an act of retribution or revenge. It is about justice, which is defined by the law. Those who wish Bucklew to die an ugly death are making emotional pleas out of anger and disgust. Our country's founders wrote the Bill of Rights, specifically the Eighth Amendment, that forbids cruel and unusual punishments.

This is important to our country's moral fabric. That it was written into our nation's legal bones signifies our founding fathers did not want emotion or mob rule, but law, to dictate how punishments should be carried out.

The back-and-forth judgments on Bucklew's fate were unfortunate in the sense the families of the victims and Bucklew were riding severe emotional ups and downs throughout the day, some making long trips to witness the execution. We feel a great deal of sympathy for everyone close to the case. It's certainly not ideal for these decisions to be made up until two hours before the execution.

But the death penalty is a big deal. The Eighth Amendment is a big deal.

These matters of death and punishment carry with them a tremendous responsibility. Our judges and legal system owe it to all of us to consider every detail to make sure that, when called for, the death penalty is carried out according to the law.