DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
142163P.pdf 03/06/2015 Russell Bucklew v. George Lombardi
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 14-2163
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
[PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, for the Court En Banc]
Prisoner case - habeas - Death Penalty. This opinion should be read in
conjunction with the court en banc's March 6, 2015 opinion in No. 14-2220,
Zink v. Lombardi,as Bucklew's due process claim is not materially
different than the due process claims raised in Zink and is resolved in
the opinion in that case. With respect to Bucklew's "as applied" Eighth
Amendment claim arising out of his congenital cavernous hemangioma, the
district court erred in dismissing the complaint sua sponte as it was not
patently obvious that Bucklew could not prevail and would not amend his
as-applied challenge to include a plausible allegation of a feasible and
more humane alternative method of execution; on remand, the pleadings
should be narrowly tailored and expeditiously conducted to address only
those issues that are essential to resolving Bucklew's as-applied Eighth
Amendment challenge; at the earliest possible time Bucklew must identify a
feasible, readily implemented alternative procedure that will
significantly reduce a substantial risk of severe pain and that the State
has refused to adopt. Judge Bye, with whom Judges Murphy and Kelly join,
concurring in the result. Judge Shepherd, with whom Judges Murphy and Bye
join, concurring.