Murder of Ann Harrison
Ann Harrison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 22, 1974 |
| Died | March 22, 1989 (aged 15) Raytown, Missouri, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Murder by stabbing |
Ann Harrison (February 22, 1974 – March 22, 1989) was a 15-year-old American teenager who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by two men in Raytown, Missouri. On March 22, 1989, Harrison was abducted from a school bus stop, raped, and then stabbed to death in the trunk of a car.[1][2] Her two killers: Michael Anthony Taylor (January 30, 1967 – February 26, 2014) and Roderick Nunley (March 10, 1965 – September 1, 2015) were executed for the crime by the state of Missouri via lethal injection, in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[3][4]
Murder
Michael Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Anthony Taylor January 30, 1967 |
| Died | February 26, 2014 (aged 47) |
| Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death sentence (May 3, 1991 & June 17, 1994) |
| Details | |
| Victims | Ann Harrison, 15 |
| Date | March 22, 1989 |
Roderick Nunley | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1965 |
| Died | September 1, 2015 (aged 50) |
| Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death sentence (May 3, 1991 & May 10, 1994) |
| Details | |
| Victims | Ann Harrison, 15 |
| Date | March 22, 1989 |
On March 22, 1989, Harrison left her home to go to school and waited for the school bus outside her house. As she waited by the mailbox, a blue '84 Monte Carlo pulled up next to her. Inside the vehicle, which was stolen, were Taylor and Nunley. One of the two men exited the vehicle and asked Harrison for directions. As the man approached her, he pulled her towards him and forced her into the front of the vehicle. The men then sped off with Harrison in the car. Another girl, waiting for the same bus Harrison had been waiting for, spotted the vehicle speeding past her moments later. Meanwhile, the school bus arrived at Harrison's home and sounded the horn, but no one came. The driver noticed Harrison's books, purse, and flute case had been left by the mailbox. As the bus driver waited and sounded the horn, Harrison's mother came outside to see what was happening. Figuring her daughter was still inside, she instructed the driver to move on, saying she would drive her to school. After searching the house, Harrison's mother grew concerned when there was no sign of her. She headed to a neighbor's house and then called her husband and the police.[5]
Harrison was driven to the home of the mother of one of her kidnappers. Inside the vehicle, the men blindfolded her and threatened to kill her if she continued to scream. After parking in the garage, the two men led Harrison inside and took her to the basement. Both men then took turns raping her. Afterward, the men discussed what to do with her. Not wanting to let her go because she had seen their faces, the men told her to get into the trunk of the vehicle. As Harrison pleaded with them to let her live, both men stabbed her to death with kitchen knives as she lay in the trunk of the car. They then drove the car to a quiet street and left the area in another vehicle. Later on, local media began broadcasting the news of Harrison's disappearance.[5]
Thirty-six hours after Harrison's abduction, a neighbor reported the abandoned blue '84 Monte Carlo. When police checked the license, they learned the vehicle had been stolen. After calling the owner to collect it, he arrived and opened the trunk, discovering Harrison's body. Three months after Harrison's murder, the reward for information leading to the capture of her killers had reached $9,000. A tipster told police about Taylor and Nunley. When they were brought in, both confessed, but each blamed the other as the instigator of the crime. However, the semen and hair matched Taylor.[5]
Trials
Both men waived trials and pleaded guilty before a judge. On May 3, 1991, the judge sentenced both men to death.[6]
In 1993, the Supreme Court of Missouri overturned the death sentences for Nunley and Taylor without commenting or providing a reason for doing so. Both men were then retried.[7][8]
On May 10, 1994, Nunley was sentenced to death for the second time. In addition, the judge sentenced him to life in prison for rape, life in prison for armed criminal action, and fifteen years for kidnapping.[7]
On June 17, 1994, Taylor was also sentenced to death for the second time. The judge also sentenced Taylor to life in prison for rape, fifty years for armed criminal action, and fifteen years for kidnapping. The sentences were to run consecutively.[8]
Executions
Taylor was first scheduled to be executed on February 1, 2006, but was granted a stay by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, on the grounds that lethal injection in his case could be cruel and unusual punishment. Missouri asked the Supreme Court to vacate the stay, allowing the execution. Justice Samuel Alito, in his first official act on the Supreme Court, voted with the majority (6–3) to refuse Missouri's request. Alito's vote made headlines because he did not vote with Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts, said to be the conservative wing of the court.[9][10]
On February 26, 2014, Taylor was executed via lethal injection, after last minute appeals questioning the reliability of Missouri's new, unnamed supplier of the execution drug pentobarbital were turned down. He became the fourth person to be executed in Missouri in four months.[11]
In 2006, Nunley was accused of attacking a manager at the Potosi Correctional Center, where he was being held. Officials said Nunley stabbed the manager in the head, collarbone, and back with a metal shard. The manager survived the attack. Nunley had been scheduled to be executed on October 20, 2010, but was granted a stay of execution by a federal judge.[12][13]
On September 1, 2015, Nunley was executed, also via lethal injection, after three Supreme Court issued orders denying him a stay of execution. He was 50 years old. The appeals pending before the Court questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty, the sentencing of Nunley before a jury rather than a judge, and the secrecy of the state of Missouri in acquiring the drug used to perform the execution.[14]
See also
- Capital punishment in Missouri
- Capital punishment in the United States
- List of people executed in Missouri
- List of people executed in the United States in 2014
- List of people executed in the United States in 2015
References
- ^ Blakeman, Karen; Beauchamp, Lane (January 29, 1991). "Man describes abduction, rape, murder of girl". The Kansas City Star. pp. A1, A6. Retrieved August 24, 2007 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Death-Row Inmates Speak About Murder Of 15-Year-Old Girl". KMBC-TV. April 28, 2003. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
- ^ "Michael Taylor executed by Missouri using compounded pentobarbital". The Guardian. February 26, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "Missouri executes man after 25 years on death row for murder of teenage girl". The Guardian. September 2, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c Rizzo, Tony (September 1, 2015). "From the archives: 15-year-old Ann Harrison was just waiting for the bus..." The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ Blakeman, Karen (May 4, 1991). "Death is penalty for killers". The Kansas City Star. pp. 1, 16. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Lambe, Joe (May 11, 1994). "Death sentence reinstated". The Kansas City Star. pp. 23, 25. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Lambe, Joe (June 18, 1994). "Killer again gets death sentence". The Kansas City Star. pp. 31, 38. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Shelton IV, Lee R. (February 3, 2006). "Alito's First Ruling Isn't Encouraging". The Sierra Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
- ^ Mears, Bill (February 2, 2006). "Justice Alito casts his first vote". CNN. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
- ^ Salter, Jim (February 26, 2014). "Michael Taylor Executed: Missouri Puts To Death Fourth Person In 4 Months". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Heather (August 19, 2010). "Execution set for Kansas City killer". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ^ Rizzo, Tony (October 21, 2010). "Parents resigned to execution delay". The Kansas City Star. p. 4. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Latest: Missouri executes man for girl's 1989 killing". Yahoo! News. September 1, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2015.