It's not like I'm crying any tears for Michael Taylor, but I've never been comfortable with the whole "state sponsored killing" thing . . . It just makes me kind of uncomfortable when I consider how screwed up most State institutions are and then realize those same folks have the power over life and death . . . Really, go to the DMV before you make the argument that the State is infallible.
Anyway, in the case of Michael Taylor, a guy convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing 15-year-old Ann Harrison in Kansas City in 1989, a lot of folks are pretty eager to hurry up and carry out his sentence.
Attorney General Jay Nixon’s move to set an execution date for condemned killer Michael Taylor is “blatantly premature,” his attorney argued in filings Friday with the Missouri Supreme Court.I blogged this story awhile ago and somebody seemed pretty pissed about my suggestion that people who support the death penalty should go ahead and volunteer to do the killing themselves since a new trend seems to indicate that medical professionals don't want any part of putting people to death. The guy noted that folks from the community where Harrison was killed might be willing to get their hands dirty . . . I wonder, considering that nowadays Ruskin Heights is nearly all Black and this brutal killing really proved to be a touchstone for so many unspoken (in public) conceptions about race, crime and defacto segregation in Kansas City. Put simply, after the death of Harrison a great many white people (with the means) left Ruskin Heights and the area around the killing with a quickness. I can't say I blame them but it's clear that there is an underlying racial element to most death penalty cases in much the same way that the public become obsessed whenever a white broad turns up missing.
A federal court’s stay of execution remains in effect unless the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denies a request to hear Taylor’s case, attorney Ginger Anders wrote.
Anders said she plans to file that request July 2 and, if necessary, will further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Moreover, she said, the “overwhelming evidence regarding the unreasonable risks” posed by the state’s execution procedures warrant a closer look to ensure those procedures are constitutional.
She said the state has shown it cannot ensure executions are humane.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said it would not comment.
If you were to show me crime scene photos, plus the victims when they were vibrant and alive, I think I could find the motivation to assist.
ReplyDeleteAt least insert the IV or something...
i dont know if you have a sister but if you did your mind might change and you would want to pull the switch. this is something that should have been done along time ago.
ReplyDeletei remember when this piece of shit and Roderick Nunley raped and murdered that little girl. if given the chance i would flip the switch, pull the trigger simpley beat both of them to death with my bare hands. the worst thing about this is that neither of them are dead yet. If you have sympathy for either of these shitbags, read up on what they did:
ReplyDeleteCase Facts: After using drugs, Roderick Nunley and Michael Taylor stole a car. While driving the car, the two men spotted a fifteen-year old girl waiting for her school bus. Taylor allegedly stated he wanted to steal the girl’s purse, and Nunley, who was driving, stopped the car. Taylor spoke to the girl and then grabbed her and forced her into the car. Nunley then drove to his mother’s house. The girl was taken out of the car and forced to crawl down to the basement. Taylor then raped the girl. At some point, Nunley gave Taylor some lubricant to facilitate the forced sexual intercourse. After the assault, the two men forced the girl into the trunk of the stolen car and tied her up. After Taylor stated he was afraid the girl would identify him, the two men decided to kill the girl. Nunley retrieved two knives from the kitchen and both men stabbed the girl. Nunley knew the girl was going to die from her wounds. (The former county medical examiner testified the victim was stabbed ten times and she died approximately thirty minutes later.) The men drove to a nearby neighborhood and parked the car, leaving the girl in the trunk. Nunley gave a videotaped confession to the police.
30 minutes she laid in the trunk terrified and bleeding to death. Now imagine if that was your sister or mother.
I am against the DP.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you are going to have it this is the type of case. He committed a murder in tandem with both an aggravated kidnapping and an aggravated rape. Plus his victim was a 15 year old girl and he did not kill her quickly.
If his lawyers are only raising general constitutional issues regarding the DP at this point I'd say its going to be bye-bye to Mr. Nunley.
Even in a non DP system, someone like Nunley would spend 23 hours a day in a supermax type prison for life so in a way he gets the easy way out.
Buy the ticket, take the ride...
in your effort to start a race war this summer you have missed the lead in your headline, maybe it could have read missouri in a hurry (well 18 years is mighty fast in the justice game) to use the legalized death penalty on child murderer, rapist, kidnapper Michael Taylor. Why does his race come to play here? I guess my real question for you is, and has been for quite some time now- Is every criminal prosecuted because of his or her race?
ReplyDeleteThe absolute amazing thing about this case is that a Jackson Co Prosecutor actually sought and obtained a death sentence. However, these two idiots assisted by waiving a jury trial and pleading guilty to capital murder.
ReplyDeleteI'd pay to flip the switches on these scumbags.
I don't believe in the DP. Why give killers the easy way out? Let them rot for the rest of their natural life. No parole. Ever. Besides, once you figure in the legal fees, it is actually cheaper to keep them alive behind bars than to kill them.
ReplyDeleteI am also wondering how much Nixon's campaign for governor has to do with his sudden interest in putting this guy to death?
I think they should beat him to death with a rusty axe and televise it.
ReplyDelete"I can't say I blame them but it's clear that there is an underlying racial element to most death penalty cases in much the same way that the public become obsessed whenever a white broad turns up missing."
ReplyDeleteThats because more niggers are involved in these types of crimes.
It's not a race thing unless you live in a world of ignorance. No one is shedding any tears over any white trash piece of shit criminal either.
And the plea was life without parole and a drunk judge - no longer on the Jackson County bench - was very happy to overrule the plea and sentence both "NI**ERS" (HIS OWN WORDS) to death.
ReplyDeleteYes, the crime is ghastly. 12% of the population is black and a drunk white judge dumped a plea of life without parole (arguably, a harsher sentence) because he was a drunk racist.
Nothing brings the victim back.
Nothing straightens out the lives of the murderers so that they wouldn't kill to begin with.
Nothing is done to prevent the harm that prison staff experience from their part in killing people they know and deal with every day.
Yes, the two murderers will be unable to kill again - but who else will kill because of all of this brutality/racism?
Finally, where the government can't keep shit off of spinach - how the hell can anybody trust that body to get something as important as a death sentence correct. Even when they get the right defendant - they botch the killing.
How many here know what KCl is (THAT's POTASSIUM CHLORIDE - not an airport)?
KCl is the last of the three drugs administered. KCl locks open all nerves - and, it does stop the heart - by stopping the signal that the Vagus carries to the SA & AV nodes... however, if you are awake KCl would be the single most painful way to die ever imagined - every nerve in the body reports to the brain "I'm on fire!"
Think about kids falling into water - how long can they live without air and be revived?
Well folks, there is damn good science to prove that the "dead" prisoner can feel pain for 7-10 minutes after the heart stops.
Want to kill somebody fast and certain and without pain - drop them about 3000 feet into water - don't want to clean up afterward? Drop them over open sea.
I can't believe that the @#$%^ Judge's racist order has been forgotten this fast. You all have the collective memory of a flea.
Take your collective vengeance out on somebody/something that needs it. Why are we in a war or two? Why is gasoline at $3.00/gal? Where is the outrage?
We have lots of dead people - and if you are stupid or unlucky enough to fall victim to a predator - the Star and other people will make a buck off of your death. Figure out what is important for once.
To the last one who posted a comment, it is obvious that you are not looking at the actual case. This girl was raped, murdered and left to die in the trunk of a car.
ReplyDeleteDoes it matter if the suspects were black or white? Does it matter if you think the judge was a racist? These two suspects chose to desecrate a life that could have been filled with some much if she had never encountered these two evil people.
I have seen their claims of drug use and they "don't remember" much of that terrible day. SO WHAT!!! They knew the consequences of taking a like in Missouri could be your own life taken.
As far as the drugs administered, the first drug renders them unconcious, they are not feeling anything, so "no my body is on fire!"
And also, you seem to rationalize that racism in your mind is a justification for homicide, that this racial atrocity will encourage other blacks to act out.
It sounds like "Rodney King" to me all over again. That certainly worked out well for the black people.
This tragedy is not the time to try to make a racial statement!! These two rapist/killers need to die. You talk about the price of gas?? How much money do you think the State has to waste on these endless appeals these two have continued with!! That money could be better used.
"And we have lots of dead people-if you stupid or unlucky enough to fall victim to a predator", you seem to minimize what happened to her, like she could have avoided these two scum of society while she was waiting for her bus!!!
May they kill them both soon, it has been 17 years, long overdue!!!!
Hey Tony: Would you be as concerned for these two killers if the victim was a little 15 year old black girl and the killers were a couple of white scumbags? Why is race getting involved here? These two criminals commited a terrible crime and should pay the price. To me a Racist is someone who injects race into every situation. I say off these two pieces of trash and be done with it. Why are you so concerned about a little pain when they were not concerned about hurting the victim. Hey Tony you are full of S---.
ReplyDeleteAs a relative of the murdered girl, I do not appreciate you bringing race into this - if anyone was racist, it was Taylor and Nunley when they said that they wanted to go get a white bitch. The pled guilty, end of story.
ReplyDeleteI do admit though, that I am uncomfortable with the death penalty. Yes, even in this case. That's about all I can say on the subject right now.
The title of this article should have been,Missouri eager to kill a child rapist/murderer.
ReplyDeleteI realize this story was posted years ago but I have to ask just what is wrong with you sir? I don't care what color these heinous men are I think they are getting off pretty easy. Is the death penalty cruel? I don't give a damn if it is, honestly I hope it is it can't be nearly as cruel as what they did to that poor girl. They chose to do drugs, rape an innocent 15 year old girl, tie her up, and stab her, just enough that she would lie bleeding to death alone, helpless, and scared in the trunk of a stolen car. Her last memories are of being brutally raped and begging for her life, how scared do you think she was? What do you think she was thinking? Feeling? What is wrong with you people and how do you sleep at night...it is NOT because they are black, they just so happen to be black, I would feel the same if they were white, yellow, purple, or green. STOP playing the race card I am so sick of it, they were tried, convicted, and sentenced, STOP wasting my tax dollars and just carry the damn sentence out. It should have been done years ago! Just to let you know exactly where I stand on this I think their punishment should be much more painful and cruel, I want them to feel what that innocent 15 year old girl felt as she was dying. Anything less is a crime in my eyes!
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with race. And frankly its sick and perverted to turn what these monsters did...into a race issue. Before u r so quick to play the card on their behalf....let me ask u this....do think they were being racist when the picked a white girl to murder? Are u telling me race didn't enter into their minds? So give me a break. These two are nothing but a waste of space and menace to society. Why should we give a rats behind how they die? Honostly...what should happen is they should release these to "men" into the custory of that little girls family and friends. I gaurentee u....when they got done with them they would be praying for the leathal injection. Its sad but these two will die much more peaceful deaths than any of us. They will simply go to sleep. No pain no stab wounds no praying someone comes and finds them.
ReplyDeleteTurning this into a race issue is your way of saying this girl had it comming for being white. And fyi I am a white girl that was born in northeast kc. THANK GOD my parents moved in 1985. The only reason we made it there is everyone knew my father as he grew up there and the gangs were terrified of him. As they should have been. I've been discriminated against over there for being white. I had one gas station refuse to sell me gas and he told me I needed ro get out of that part of town now and I had no business there. I'm sick and tired of people playing the race card. At some point everyone has to stand up and be accountable for their own actions.
Fuck off, asshole. Don't stand up for these murderers.
ReplyDeleteWow....Tony, plain and simple, you're an uneducated, racist d*ck. You think the State is too eager to follow through on a sentence that was handed down by a jury of this animal's peers? 25 years to carry out a sentence is 'too eager' for you? Moron. And you say, "..there's an underlying racial element to most death penalty cases."? Seriously? Did the victims get to choose who would assault, rape and murder them? Did they say, "Oh, I want someone of another race to do this because I hate them'? No, they didn't. It was the criminal - regardless of race - who chose their vicitm. These two pieces of human waste, by their own words, chose this young girl BECAUSE of her race. Who's the racist now? And to say that the public gets obsessed when 'a white broad turns up missing' - you're a complete a$$hole - this young victim was child, she was 15 years old waiting for a school bus. She's not some 'broad' as you so indelicately put it. I'd love to see you, Mr. Keyboard Warrior, Mr. Toughmouth, speak those words to Ann Harrison's family and let's see how quickly you can pick up what's left of your teeth off the ground. Do you not remember Precious Doe? Little Erika Green? Do you not remember how the city and police department became 'obsessed' - I call it CARING - when that child was found hacked up in a ditch, thrown away like trash at the hands of her own mother? You want to play the race card and the sympathy card and the sexist card for all the poor innocents on death row? Go ahead, you do that because it shows what a bitter and racist jerk you are. Me, I'll flip the switch on this monster without blinking an eye and I wouldn't have a moment's regret about it. K. Manning
ReplyDeleteI remember when Anne Harrison was kidnapped, raped and murdered. I cannot imagine the pain that her family has been through these past 25 years. The two murderers should have both been put to death a long time ago so that Anne's family could have been done with this and had justice along time ago. Why did it take so long to put that animal to death and why is the other one (Roderick Nunley) still breathing air. I believe in the death penalty and I do not get why the animals such as Taylor & Nunley get to stay on death row this long. When is the state going to execute Nunley? Please make it soon because there is no reason why it should have taken this long for Taylor and that Nunley is still breathing air is beyond me!!!
ReplyDeleteRemember this,well. I'm glad they've taken thier time. Taylor is gone now and they got plenty of time in a cage to go stir crazy and now it's time to turn out that one last light. Nite nite, Roderick
ReplyDelete