The state of Missouri has just executed its third person in the past month.
However, lawyers for Leonard “Raheem” Taylor, the most recent person to die by execution, say officials have ignored new evidence that proves he is innocent of the crime he was convicted of nearly 15 years ago.
Taylor was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening at a state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, where he was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. Since before his conviction, he had maintained his innocence. Others stood with him, like Missourians for Alternatives to the Death and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, both calling for the execution to be stopped.
Still, on Monday, Feb. 6, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he would move forward with the state’s execution of the 58-year-old, stating the evidence that he has seen supports the court’s decision.
He said, “Leonard Taylor brutally murdered a mother and her three children. The evidence shows Taylor committed these atrocities, and a jury found him guilty. Courts have consistently upheld Taylor’s convictions and sentences under the facts and the Missouri and United States Constitutions.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused Taylor’s last-ditch appeal on Tuesday.
Taylor was convicted in 2008 of four counts of first-degree murder and four counts of armed criminal action for a 2004 quadruple homicide in St. Louis, Missouri. The court believed that Angela Rowe, his girlfriend, and her three children (Alexus Conley, 10; AcQreya Conley, 6; and Tyrese Conley, 5) were killed around Nov. 24 to Nov. 25. Taylor had flown to California on Nov. 26.
However, Rowe and her family’s bodies weren’t discovered by authorities until Dec. 3, 2004.
The Midwest Innocence Project says evidence shows Rowe and her children were alive when Taylor left for the West Coast to visit family, and it would have been impossible for him to have committed the crime.
“Mr. Taylor had an alibi that should have proven his innocence…
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