U. S. Supreme Court issues stay for Bucklew execution

Oklahoma inmate dies of heart attack after botched execution

Will this slow down Missouri's recent frenzy for executing death row prisoners?
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Mike Kelley: I watched the execution of Michael Taylor

In his latest newsletter, Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, offers a change of pace as he offers a first person account of the execution of murderer/rapist Michael Taylor.

This week I was selected to serve as a state witness for the execution of inmate Michael Taylor. While I have always been a proponent of the death penalty nothing could have prepared me for what the night would bring.

 It was not what I am sure you are thinking. The night, while very long was one that was peaceful, so peaceful that I actually felt it could have been said to be another punishment on the victim’s family. 

 Unlike events you might picture in your mind or have witnessed in movies, Missouri uses lethal injection and in this case the drug phenobarbital. The inmate is on a medical gurney (looks like a bed) in a room. You have the state witnesses in one room with curtains, the inmate’s family in another room with curtains and finally the family of the victim in a third room with curtains. 

 The curtains are opened and you see the inmate laying peacefully on what looks like a bed and is covered up to his head with several white sheets. What you don’t see is the victim is strapped to the bed and held firmly in place. Then at 12:01am the curtain is pulled closed and while none of the witnesses can see the inmate, he receives the injection of phenobarbital. Then the staff leaves the room and the curtains are pulled back and what those witnessing see is just a man lying peacefully on the bed. 

 In this case he took two big breaths while looking over at his family and then appeared to fall asleep. We then watched for several minutes and then they pulled the curtains again. During this time just like when giving the injection none of the witnesses were viewing these actions. The medical staff had reentered the room behind the closed curtains and checked for vitals. Once confirmed that no vital signs were present time of death, this was noted to the state witnesses. Then the curtains were closed and we went back out to the original waiting room that we had started the night in and signed a certificate to be delivered to the Missouri Supreme Court that the execution had been completed.

Now what I felt and what others stated that evening seem to match up. Why does the inmate’s family get to be present? Does this not cause more pain and suffering to the victim’s family? By not actually witnessing the medical portions of the execution does it take away from the closure for the victim’s family? These and other questions were brought up among the state witnesses.

 The facts in the case make it even harder to take. Michael Taylor was in prison eating three meals a day, watching TV and having access to gym equipment and other activities for almost 10 years longer than his young victim Ann Harrison was alive on this earth! 

 Michael Taylor and his accomplice kidnapped, raped and the stabbed to death with kitchen knives 15 year old Ann Harrison as she pleaded for her life and tossed her in the trunk of a car while still alive. It was later determined by medical professionals that it most likely took Ms. Harrison upwards of 30 minutes to bleed out and die of her wounds. Now knowing this information it makes me question the amount of time after appeals it took to carry out this execution and the reasons that have brought this length of time about.

In response to this and a letter I have received on another “death row” case I have introduced one piece of legislation dealing with the Death Penalty already and I am working on a second piece to follow up.

The first bill, HB 1855, http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills141/biltxt/intro/HB1855I.HTM, will force the hand of the Missouri Supreme Court. Currently by Missouri law once all appeals have been exhausted by a person on “death row” (Missouri no longer has a death row as the inmates are in general population) the Missouri Attorney General issues a writ of execution requesting the Missouri Supreme Court to set a date for execution and issue an execution warrant.

 Currently there is no time frame on how quickly this must be done. Currently requests have been filed from the Attorney General’s office for execution dates for fifteen inmates. Below is a list of inmates and the date it was requested. Currently only one inmate on the list has a date set and that is Jeffrey Ferguson on March 26th, 2014. As you can see this system is greatly flawed and in some cases we have been waiting over six years for an execution date to be set for a person that is guilty of the most heinous of crimes and has exhausted all appeals.

Jeffrey Ferguson 4/14/06, and again on 6/8/07, John Middleton 6/8/07, William Rousan 6/8/07, John Winfield 6/8/07, Russell Bucklew 6/8/07, Earl Ringo 4/17/08, Mark Christeson 4/17/08, Cecil Clayton 5/17/12, David Barnett 5/17/12, Leon Taylor 5/17/12, Walter Storey 5/17/12, Andre Cole 5/17/12, Michael Worthington 5/17/12, Paul Goodwin 5/17/12 and David Zink 5/17/12.

The legislation that I have filed will require the Supreme Court to review a request from the Attorney General within thirty days and set and have carried out the requested execution within sixty days.

The second piece of legislation that I am currently still working on and hope to file next week will both increase the methods of execution legally allowed to be used in Missouri and put in protections against future suits concerning the potential for pain or suffering during an execution.

 Stating simply that under Missouri Law when the crime of Capital Murder is committed and the punishment of execution is the verdict set forth, that the state understands that a certain amount of limited pain may transpire during the execution process and that due to the nature of the crime committed this is neither cruel or unusual and is deemed appropriate for the crime committed.

Petition launched to make child kidnapping/murder federal offense punishable by death

One week after the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Hailey Owens of Springfield, a petition has been launched to make kidnapping and murdering a child federal offense punishable by death.

The petition, which is on the White House's "We the People" site, calls for the following:

Enact a Law which makes child abduction and murder a federal crime and instantly punishable by death penalty.

There are too many child abductions and murders every year in this country and I have had enough. We need to make it known that this will not be tolerated and even a first offense of child abduction followed by murder will be punishable by death. A clear message needs to be sent to child abducters, molesters, and murderers. I ask that this be a Federal Crime punishable by death.

One hundred thousand signatures are needed by March 21. At the time of this writing, the petition has 893 signatures.

Video- Missouri bill would mean swifter executions for some murderers

Accused killer of Golden City girl asks for change of venue

If the attorney for accused killer Bobby Dale Bourne has his way, Bourne's trial will not be held in the Barton County Courthouse in Lamar.

Thomas Jacquinot, a public defender who specializes in death penalty cases, filed a motion today asking for a change of venue due to the amount of publicity Bourne's case has received.

Bourne, 35, Lockwood, is charged with first degree murder, kidnapping, statutory rape, and armed criminal action in connection with the August 19 murder of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton of Golden City.

Barton County Prosecuting Attorney Steven Kaderly has filed his intent to seek the death penalty.

Video- Detective who worked Ann Harrison murder: Justice has been served

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Missouri executes murderer/rapist MIchael Taylor

Family of Michael Taylor's victim still struggling 25 years after murder

Killer of Kansas City teenager set to receive death penalty in a few hours

Prosecutors to seek death penalty for accused killer of Golden City girl

Barton County Prosecuting Attorney Steven Kaderly will seek the death penalty for Bobby Dale Bourne, 34, Lockwod, who is charged with the rape and murder of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton of Golden City.

Kaderly filed the notice Jan. 23, starting a furious few days of action in the case. With the death penalty on the table due to the aggravating circumstances surrounding Adriaunna Horton's death, public defender Joseph Zuzul withdrew as Bourne's attorney and was replaced by Thomas Jaquinot, a public defender who specializes in death penalty cases.

Kaderly had asked for Bourne's arraignment, which originally had been scheduled for Monday, February 3, to be done via video. The defense asked for, and was granted, a continuance, moving the arraignment to 1 p.m. Wednesday, February 19, and received permission for Bourne to be transferred from his upstate prison cell to the Barton County Courthouse in Lamar. Bourne is serving a 15-year sentence, which was handed down by a Cedar County judge after Bourne admitted he had violated his probation by not attending a court-ordered Batterer Intervention Program.

Bourne is charged with first degree murder, statutory rape, and kidnapping in connection with the August 19 death of Miss Horton. A charge of forcible rape was dropped.

Kaderly is being assisted by the Missouri Attorney General's office.

Koster offers sympathy to family of executed killer's victims

(From Attorney General Chris Koster)

After the United States Supreme Court vacated three separate stays of execution on January 29, 2014, Herbert Smulls was executed for the 1991 murder of Stephen Honickman.

Attorney General Koster said, "My thoughts and prayers are with Florence Honickman and the family and friends of Stephen Honickman."

Nixon denies clemency for convicted killer

(From Gov. Jay Nixon)

The Governor’s Office today released the following statement from Gov. Jay Nixon regarding his decision on the petition for clemency from Herbert Smulls:

I have received from my counsel a final briefing on the petition for clemency from Herbert Smulls, which has been reviewed in detail. After careful deliberation, I have denied this petition. As Governor, this is a power and a process I do not take lightly. Each instance involves a very specific set of facts, which must be considered on its own.

Herbert Smulls shot and killed Stephen Honickman and seriously wounded Florence Honickman in a cold-blooded and deliberate manner during a robbery of their jewelry business in Chesterfield. A career criminal, Smulls was apprehended by law enforcement shortly after the murder with stolen jewelry still in the car.

These crimes were brutal, and the jury that convicted Smulls determined that he deserved the most severe punishment under Missouri law. Both the conviction and the death sentence of Herbert Smulls have held up under extensive judicial review by the state and federal courts. My decision on clemency upholds the action by the jury and the decisions by the courts.

I ask that Missourians remember Stephen Honickman at this time, and keep Florence Honickman and the family and friends of the Honickmans in their thoughts and prayers.

Bill filed to bring back firing squads for Missouri death penalty

Video: Lawmaker calls for commission on lethal injection protocols

Video- Lawyers for child killer/rapist Chris Collings fight for his life

Missouri Supreme Court to hear Chris Collings' appeal today

The effort to keep Chris Collings from receiving the death penalty begins today in Jefferson City when the Missouri Supreme Court hears his appeal. Collings was sentenced to death for the murder of nine-year-old Rowan Ford of Stella on November 2, 2007. His lawyer's version of the case can be found at this link. The state's reasons why Collings should be put to death and its version of the case can be found at this link.

State: This is why Rowan Ford's killer must die

The Missouri Supreme Court will listen to oral arguments Wednesday during the first step in Chris Collings' efforts to avoid the death penalty for the Nov. 2, 2007, rape and murder of nine-year-old Triway Elementary School student Rowan Ford.

The government filed briefs with the court describing the case and refuting Collings' attorneys' arguments.

The Collings brief, which was filed earlier, indicated that he had been used by Wheaton police officer Clinton Clark, who was supposedly acting as his friend while leading him into confessing his role in the murder. The government's brief says that was not the case. Clark not only had been a longtime friend of Collings, but until Collings confessed, thought that Rowan Ford's stepfather, David Spears, was the killer.

Final arguments made as Nicklasson execution date nears

Convicted killer Allen Nickasson's execution is scheduled for Wednesday, and as you might expect, his lawyers are making last-ditch efforts to keep it from happening.

At issue, as it was before the Nov. 20 execution of racist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, is the drug protocol being administered during the execution process:

"The use of anonymously compounded pentobarbital puts Mr. Nicklasson at risk of an excruciatingly painful execution," Nicklasson's lawyers write.

In 2012, a group of anti-death penalty lawyers filed a lawsuit that takes issue with Missouri's execution methods. Since the state has changed its method numerous times in the past few months, the merits of that case haven't been ruled on. Nicklasson's lawyers say that since he stands a fair chance of winning that case, his execution should be postponed.

Nicklasson was one of three men involved in the murder of an AT&T worker who helped them when their car broke down. One of the three, Dennis Skillicorn, has already been executed. Nicklasson was the one who pulled the trigger, according to court records.