List of individuals executed in Missouri

A total of 66 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Missouri since 1976. All were by executed by lethal injection. All executions in Missouri were suspended between June 26, 2006, and June 4, 2007, due to a federal court ruling ("see below").

Suspension of capital punishment in Missouri

On June 26, 2006, U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City suspended Missouri's death penalty after lengthy hearings on the matter. Judge Gaitan reasoned that the state's lethal injection protocol did not satisfy the Eighth Amendment because (1) the written procedures for implementing lethal injections were too vague, and (2) the state had no qualified anesthesiologist to perform lethal injections. Jay Nixon, the Missouri Attorney General, promptly appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis.

The Eighth Circuit held oral argument in the case on January 10, 2007, and a decision was released on June 4, 2007. The case is number 06-3651, "Taylor v. Crawford". The Court reversed the decision of the district court and vacated the injunction, allowing for the death penalty to resume. The court found:
* 1. Risk of accident in carrying out of execution protocol does not form basis for claim of cruel and unusual punishment in violation of Eighth Amendment; rather, inquiry on challenge to execution protocol is whether it inherently imposes constitutionally significant risk of pain.
* 2. State's lethal injection protocol, utilizing sodium pentothal (thiopental), pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, did not involve substantial foreseeable risk of wanton infliction of pain, and thus did not have to mandate participation of anesthesiologist or additional monitoring equipment in order to comport with Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment; written protocol called for ample quantity of thiopental to cause unconsciousness, and mandated medical supervision by physician, emergency medical technician or nurse, including examination to confirm unconsciousness prior to third injection.

As of 2008, no executions have taken place since Gaitan's ruling, partly due to a national "de facto" moratorium while the Supreme Court of the United States decided "Baze v. Rees". The court set the first Missouri post-"Baze" execution date in June 2008, but stayed that execution, scheduled for July 30, due to expected litigation. [Jeremy Kohler, [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/DFBB82CDBEB1B05C86257487001367CA?OpenDocument Court holds back Missouri execution] , "St. Louis Post-Dispatch", July 15 2008.] Two executions set in September were both given 30 day stays by the Missouri Supreme Court, and as of October 7, 2008 no execution dates have been reset. [Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty [http://www.moabolition.org/] ]

See also

* Capital punishment in the United States

References

External links

* [http://www.missourideathrow.com/ Capital Punishment in Missouri] (Missourinet)