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Central Standard

On Death Row: Missouri Inmate Michael Taylor Scheduled To Be Executed

Missouri inmate Michael Taylor is scheduled to be executed just after midnight on Wednesday. Pentobarbital from an unnamed compounding pharmacy will be used.

Taylor's attorneys are concerned that the drug may cause his client unnecessary suffering because the anonymous pharmacy cannot be checked for legitimacy and any previous violations. By law, compounding pharmacies that supply lethal injection formulas in Missouri are allowed to remain anonymous.

Taylor was convicted of abducting, raping and killing 15-year-old Ann Harrison, who was waiting for the school bus on the morning of March 22, 1989, in Kansas City.

Taylor and his accomplice Roderick Nunley jumped out of their car, which had been stolen the night before while the men were high on crack cocaine, and forced Harrison into the vehicle. Taylor and Nunley drove to the home of Nunley's mother, where DNA testing proved that Taylor raped the high school sophomore in the basement.

The men stabbed Harrison repeatedly with kitchen knives. She died 30 minutes later.

Harrison's body was tossed in the trunk of the stolen vehicle, which the men abandoned. It was discovered three days later. The crime went unsolved for about six months, when Taylor and Nunley were arrested. They both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to death in 1991.

KCUR's Dan Verbeck has been following this case since the very beginning. On Central Standard, Verbeck joins us to discuss the details of this brutal murder and the execution of Michael Taylor.

Guest:

  • Dan Verbeck, reporter at KCUR
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Central Standard violencecrimedeath penalty
Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.