The scheduled execution of Michael Taylor, who was sentenced to die for the murder of a girl in Kansas City in March of 1989, remains on hold. Lawyers for Taylor had gone to court, claiming the state’s method of execution – lethal injection – was a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Federal Judge Fernando Gaitan in Kansas City ruled, late yesterday, that lethal injection does not constitute a form of unconstitutional punishment. A federal appeals court in St. Louis is now reviewing that ruling, and has stayed the execution until 5 o’clock this afternoon. The stay could be lifted at anytime. The state has until midnight, tonight, to execute Taylor.
Related web sites:
Michael Taylor’s Case File