BONNE TERRE, Mo – The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of Raheem Taylor, a Missouri man convicted of killing his live-in girlfriend and her three young children, which has cleared the way for his execution to proceed on Tuesday evening.
Taylor’s lawyer, Kent Gipson, requested a stay of execution and appointment of a special master to review the case, arguing that his client is innocent and that executing him would be a violation of the Constitution.
The case revolved around the death of Angela Rowe and her three children in 2004 and whether Taylor was in Missouri or California at the time of the murder.
The request was denied by the Missouri Supreme Court and prosecutors have dismissed Taylor’s claim of innocence as “nonsense.”
Taylor ordered a seafood platter, a cheeseburger, a slice of cheesecake, French fries and vanilla ice cream as his final meal.
His final words were: O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer. Surely Allah is with the patient and do not speak of those [Muslims] who are slain in Allah’s way as dead; nay, (they/we are) alive, but you do not perceive [their life and strength]. Holy Qur’an Surah 2:153-154
Muslims don’t die, we live eternally in the hearts of our family and friends. From Allah we come and to Allah we all shall return. Everbody will get their turn to die. Death is not your enemy, it is your destiny. Look forward to meeting it.
Peace!
The Midwest Innocence Project, the national NAACP, and several Missouri civil rights and religious organizations also called for a stay of execution. However, a clemency request was rejected by Republican Governor Mike Parson and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell declined to request a new hearing, stating that the jury “got the verdict right.”
