A Missouri inmate's execution was halted by the Eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals based in St. Louis hours before the scheduled time, due to his rare medical condition that could heighten the risk of suffering extreme pain during the process of lethal injection.

Russell Bucklew, the man who was supposed to be executed at 1:01 am EDT, has an inborn condition that could cause constrictions in his nose and throat.

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His legal team had argued that his situation could probably breach his constitutional right not to be subjected to painful and cruel punishment if the execution by legal injection would push through.

Judge Michael Malloy wrote in the court ruling that the medical evidence submitted by Buckley showed a vital and sufficient probability of receiving unnecessary suffering and pain beyond what is allowed by the Constitution in the execution process.

The court also concluded that possible irreversible harm to Bucklew will also be detrimental to the state if the execution was pushed through.

A court panel composed of three judges ruled two-to-one in favor of halting Bucklew's execution. The new court order delays it for 60 days.

In 1997, Bucklew was convicted of kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend and murdering a man.

The court appeared to question Missouri's rashness to push through with the execution, even if the lawyers of the convict had already submitted several statements from professionals that confirm the rarity and severity of Bucklew's medical condition.

The court wrote that the state probably did not make a significant assessment of how the execution process would interact with the unique condition of the inmate.

The court also mentioned that the different suggestions submitted by the state for changes to the lethal injection mentioned of Bucklew were made rather abruptly.

Bucklew's case is the second to be granted a delayed execution within the last minutes of this month. A few weeks ago, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans allowed the postponement of the execution of Texas inmate Robert Campbell after his lawyers argued that he is mentally handicapped.