Bucklew's stay of execution request denied

Russel Bucklew is running out of options. On Monday afternoon, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri refused his request for a stay of execution.

Also on Monday, Gov. Jay Nixon said he didn't see any reason to halt the execution for medical reasons.

"This guy committed very, very heinous crimes and while it's a difficult and challenging part of this job, we'll continue to move forward unless a court says otherwise," Nixon said.

Bucklew, 46, who was convicted of killing Michael Sanders during a crime spree in 1996, has a congenital condition known as cavernous hemangioma that causes weakened and malformed blood vessels, as well as tumors in his nose and throat. He is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Bucklew will be the first person put to death in the U.S. since a botched execution in Oklahoma last month.

Bucklew's appeal requested a stay on the grounds that complications are highly likely and would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment.

But it appears the execution will happen despite Bucklew's attorneys' claims that he is likely "to hemorrhage and choke during his execution," according to a news release issued by the firm representing Bucklew.

Cheryl Pilate, one of Bucklew's attorneys, said Monday she and her firm would immediately appeal the district court's denial to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

Bucklew is slated to be executed in Bonne Terre, Missouri, using pentobarbital obtained from a compounder, as opposed to a manufacturer. Bucklew's attorneys say that compounded drugs can be unpredictable in terms of potency or contamination, further increasing the risk of complications during the execution.

None of the six inmates executed since Missouri switched to pentobarbital last year has shown outward signs of pain or suffering. But when Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett's execution went awry April 29, it prompted renewed concern over lethal injection.

Lockett's vein collapsed and he died of an apparent heart attack 43 minutes after the start of the punishment. Oklahoma put on hold a second execution scheduled for the same night as Lockett's death, while the state investigates what happened.

Many states, including Oklahoma and Missouri, have changed drugs they administer and refuse to disclose the source of the execution drugs. Death penalty opponents say the secrecy makes it impossible to ensure a drug couldn't cause an inmate to suffer cruel and unusual punishment.

A federal court is also considering a request to allow Bucklew's lawyers to record the execution on video.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.