Missouri executes inmate for abducting, raping and killing 15-year-old girl in 1989

[The Straight Story]

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — Missouri executes inmate for abducting, raping and killing 15-year-old girl in 1989.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/missouri-executes-inmate-abducting-raping-and-killing-15-year-old-girl-1989

[RandySF]

1. Roast in Hell.

[Keefer]

2. It's

about time. Let's see. 2014 - 1989 = 25. More than enough time to make yourself right with God.

[Deep13]

3. I guess if a state insists on executing, this guy was as good a candidate as any.

Still, I think violence by the state encourages people to think of violence as a legitimate solution to problems. Societies with merciful criminal penalties invariably have less violent crime than we do.

[Live and Learn]

5. +1 And let's not forget that the one we killed

has innocent family members that we tortured as well. Killing is wrong, period!

[davidn3600]

4. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

[Live and Learn]

6. +1 nt

[linuxman]

7. I hope he was scared.

Fuck him.

That piece of shit got to spend 10 more years in prison than she did on earth.

We'll never know what she might have been. We know what he was.

We are better off.

[Petrushka]

8. Inmate showed no signs of distress during execution --->

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/missouri-readies-4th-execution-4-months

[MO_Moderate]

44. That's a shame.

[Jenoch]

9. I am normally against capital punishment,

but when I read stories such as this, I might change my mind.

[Lasher]

10. An effective deterrent.

We can now be certain that Michael Taylor will never again rape and kill a 15 year old schoolgirl.

[seveneyes]

11. He got off easy

No good can come from the death penalty. He was given the easy way out painlessly. Captivity would have given him the rest of his life to realize what he did was wrong. The DP is not a deterrent.

[magical thyme]

14. if he didn't figure it out in the last 25 years, he wasn't going to figure it out.

Imprisoning somebody for life is cruel and inhumane. Euthanasia is humane.

No, it's not a deterrent to others. But now there is no chance that he will escape and take another innocent life.

[seveneyes]

15. I seriously doubt there was ever a remote chance he was going to escape

Any person capable of raping, torturing and painfully killing others like this guy would be deterred more by facing a life of isolation rather than a painless, easy way out of this mortal coil. The death penalty is wrong, no matter how one tries to rationalize it.

[magical thyme]

18. I disagree

No matter how much the anti-death penalty people try to rationalize their beliefs.

A person capable of raping, torturing and painfully killing others isn't thinking about getting caught when they are doing their raping, torturing and painfully killing.

And I don't believe that torturing the torturer-killer through isolation and imprisonment is in any way more humane than euthanasia. If anything, it is less so.

I do believe that in cases where the is absolutely no doubt who did the torturing and murdering, euthanasia is preferable to imprisonment. And I do believe that the "death penalty" should be approached as "euthanasia." A sad case where society failed the killer, cannot reasonably expect to rehabilitate the killer, and cannot allow the killer back on the street.

[Major Nikon]

25. You have it exactly backwards

Any punishment needs to be rationalized, not the other way around. I have yet to see anyone rationalize the death penalty.

"absolutely no doubt" is an impossible legal standard which is why it's never been used and you will never see it. So long as people are being put to death there will inevitably be innocent victims of state sanctioned murder.

[Lancero]

26. The only innocent victim...

Was the 15 year old girl who was raped and murdered.

The guy they put down? That wasn't a victim. It wasn't even human. Raping and murdering a child isn't the action of a human being. It's the action of a rabid animal, a beast with no morality. A monster.

Some people can be rehabilitated. Some crimes are so heinous that rehabilitation isn't worth the risk of the person receding.

[Major Nikon]

29. I wasn't claiming he was a victim

I'm saying that anytime a punishment is irrevocable, there will be innocent victims. Some we know about. Inevitably most we won't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution

[seveneyes]

30. "A sad case where society failed the killer"

I really don't know how to respond to such a statement. Nothing in our society can even come close to creating or being the cause of such a killer. The only failure is the killers failure to be a human being and value another human life.

[magical thyme]

55. if we failed to stop him from becoming a killer...

I'm thinking of the usual defense of "horrible childhood." If that is the case, and we (as a society) failed to notice, or noticed and failed to intervene, or if our intervention was to ship him from one bad foster home after another or make matters worse, then we failed as a society to help grow a decent member of society versus a torturer and murderer.

[LiberalAndProud]

78. I would say he had figured it out.

The 47-year-old had pleaded guilty. But his attorneys launched a string of appeals, including one asserting the drugs used for lethal injection could subject him to a slow and tortuous death.

Before his execution, Taylor told Reuters that he had great remorse for his crime and said it was fueled by crack cocaine.

"I hurt for her family... No words can express the pain and anguish that they have lived with through the years. I can only wish them peace, and pray there will come a day when they can forgive me," Taylor said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/us-usa-missouri-execution-taylor-idUSBREA1P0A020140226

His remorse doesn't mitigate the crime. It doesn't restore Ann or her family. Neither does his death. I don't feel either good or bad about this execution. Done is done.

[yeoman6987]

42. I believe what should have happened was

that he spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement with NOTHING but a cot and bread and water forever and that is it. One toilet and no ability to see the outside including no going outside for an hour a day. That would be a punishment and a chance for him to ponder his deeds.

[PeteSelman]

12. Shame it took so damn long.

Why is the DP more costly and inefficient? Because it takes 25+ years to be carried out. These assholes should have been marched out of their first appeal courtroom and hanged. Quick, easy, cheap.

[morningfog]

13. What a bunch of disgusting replies in this thread.

[NuclearDem]

16. No kidding.

[davidpdx]

17. +1

We should be opposed to the death penalty. An eye for an eye only kills another person and doesn't bring back the victim. While I agree his crime was heinous, he deserved to be locked up for the rest of his life not killed. It's a shame that Missouri still has the DP.

[Lancero]

27. An eye...

Can be taken in many ways.

Some want to execute a person, to quickly remove them.

Some want to throw them in a cage, to let them suffer til they die of age.

In the end, neither side can claim to be humane in their actions. Both cases require a special kind of evil to support, both supporters are of seperate mindsets that are equally cruel.

[davidpdx]

31. The difference is if you execute someone and they later turn out to be innocent

good luck bringing them back to life. Yes, both are forms of punishment. No arguing there. If you look at the DP at a form of torture, then it's pretty easy to see which one is worse.

[Lancero]

33. Same applies to life...

Innocents have been executed. Innocents have also spent the rest of their lives in prison.

Can you bring the innocents who spent the rest of their lives in prison back?

[Major Nikon]

32. Segregating murders from society is a given

The death penalty is not.

Those two things are not equal.

[Lancero]

34. Both cases...

The idea is remove the person from society.

They just use differing methods.

[Major Nikon]

36. Exactly

But those two methods are not equal. One is irrevocable and is considered a human rights violation by virtually all of the civilized world with the exception being the US and most despotic shitholes.

[yeoman6987]

43. So what is your choice?

I don't understand what you have against throwing them in a cage to let them suffer til they die of age (I am sure you meant old age). You believe that this is evil? What is your solution? If we could have an adopt a prisoner program perhaps having him stay at your house for life would be the better option. I seriously don't understand your post.

[Lancero]

66. My point...

Is that neither side of the debate can claim moral grounds.

[morningfog]

62. I don't support life without parole except in the most extreme cases,

and even then, the person most likely needs mental treatment in a hospital.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. +1

Shaking my head. No use interacting with 'em, either.

[Orrex]

61. Yes indeed.

We're a bloodthirsty lot, and it takes very little to bring it to the surface.

[Deep13]

69. Agreed. nt

[NaturalHigh]

19. The death penalty always makes me uneasy...

but the world won't miss this guy.

[HappyMe]

22. Yeah.

This guy had a way easier death than that girl did.

[MrScorpio]

21. I'm still very much against the death penalty in all cases.

However, I would have been fine with this murderer living the rest of his entire natural life behind bars.

[pintobean]

23. I wonder what affect this has on this guy.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/child-porn-found-at-coach-s-home-in-springfield-mo/article_2a651f70-4e25-5b77-98c6-3a91af5bc97e.html

Child porn found at coach's home in Springfield, Mo., girl's killing

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. • A police search of the southwest Missouri home of a middle-school football coach accused in a 10-year-old girl's kidnapping and death found child pornography and more than a dozen guns, according to search warrants released Friday.

Officers retrieved a three-ring binder containing pornographic photos of young children at the home of Craig Michael Wood, the documents released by Springfield police say. Investigators also seized computers, cameras, 30 video recordings, handwritten journals, a spent .22 caliber shell casing and a hat believed to have been worn by fourth-grader Hailey Owens.

Wood is accused of snatching Hailey as she walked home from her best friend's house this week, just two blocks from her own home. Neighbors said they watched in horror and unsuccessfully gave chase as Hailey was pulled into a pickup truck that sped away.

At a brief hearing Friday, Wood's lawyer said he plans to plead not guilty. Wood appeared via video from the Greene County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He spoke only briefly to answer several questions from the judge. Hailey's parents, older brother and five other family members also attended.

Her body was found in his house. He shot her in the head.
Hailey Owens will be laid to rest this afternoon. May she rest in peace.

Whatever his fate, I hope he's scared shitless for the rest of his life.

[msanthrope]

64. I suspect that they will seek the death penalty. And they'll get it. nt

[get the red out]

77. Whatever his fate, I hope he's scared shitless for the rest of his life

THIS!!!!!

[TroglodyteScholar]

24. Did the young victim magically spring back to life?

No?

Huh.

[Lancero]

28. Is her rapist and murderer...

Going to have a chance to rape and kill again?

No?

Huh.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

39. Would that realistically happen if someone were incarcerated in max security?

Probably not?

Huh.

[TroglodyteScholar]

51. Some people just want to play God

How do so many people conclude that they know who ought to die and when...?

Good people become supporters of murder when they let the need for revenge take over. How don't they see that?

[Lancero]

65. Her murderer played God too...

Was this a good person, and why did he desire revenge against this girl?

[TroglodyteScholar]

93. Two wrongs...

...I think you probably know the rest.

[TroglodyteScholar]

47. Would he have the chance if he were imprisoned for life?

No?

Huh.

The bloodlust around here is depressing.

[B Calm]

35. What did it cost tax payers to lock him up all these years?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

38. Less than it did to execute him. nt

[B Calm]

45. How much does it cost to execute someone?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

46. It's nearly double.

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/15519792/what-costs-more-the-death-penalty-or-life-in-prison

And yes, death penalty costs could be reduced by limiting the right of appeal. But then you'd be talking about serious Constitutional violations, not to mention possible executions of wrongfully accused persons.

It's not worth it.

[B Calm]

54. The accused has the right to appeal regardless of life or death verdicts,

that said maybe I should word it what does the execution cost after all the trials vs the cost to keep the accused in prison the rest of their life?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

37. And murder in the human race officially ended, and we all lived happily ever after.

Not really, but it doesn't stop people from thinking that the death penalty is an actual deterrent or that it offers closure to the victim's families.....neither of which is actually true.

[11 Bravo]

40. I'm conflicted regarding the DP, generally leaning against it, but for you ...

to claim to speak for all "victim's families" demonstrates an almost incomprehensible level of arrogance.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

41. You don't have to take my word for it.

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/27/study-executions-do-not-bring-closure-to-victims-families/


Study: Executions Do Not Bring Closure To Victims’ Families

January 27, 2014 11:28 PM

AUSTIN, TX (CBS Houston) – According to a new study, executions do not heal the victims’ families.

The study also said that the primary reason people say they support the death penalty is based on an incorrect assumption: that the death of the murderer would bring satisfaction and closure to the victim’s family.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and from the University of Texas at Austin conducted the survey. Minnesota has no death penalty, and Texas leads the nation in executions.

Researchers conducted personal interviews then compared family survivors’ experiences in Minnesota with those in Texas. The victim’s family members in Minnesota showed higher levels of physical, psychological, and behavior health, than those in Texas. They also showed a higher level of satisfaction with the criminal justice system.

[nadinbrzezinski]

80. Carcetti gave you one study

but there are many that show that there is no closure for MOST families.

And then there is the cost of actually executing the perp. It is actually cheaper to keep them in jail for life.

[stevenleser]

48. I am against all death penalty executions. But some bother me less than others...

... just sayin.

[Hayabusa]

49. And the MO Attorney General Said "You don't have the right to a pain-free execution"

or something very similar. Fuck that guy.

[MO_Moderate]

50. Should have happened 25 years ago

I can't believe my taxes helped keep this POS alive all this time.

[get the red out]

52. I agree

I have no pity for creeps like this guy.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

53. Yes, instead your taxes were wasted in a vain effort for "deterrance" and "closure." nt

[MO_Moderate]

56. Not wasted in the least

The mere possibility that somebody might be deterred or feel even a tiny bit of closure, is worth it. But, then again, it's not about money, deterrence or closure with me, it's about justice.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

57. So why is the death penalty "justice" to you? nt

[MO_Moderate]

60. Because I understand free will

and don't support murder.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

88. I would say pretty much everyone else here feels the same.

What's that got to do with the death penalty?

If you don't support the death penalty, you support murder???

[MO_Moderate]

90. Not at all

I understand and respect why some do not support the death penalty.

For me personally, people know the punishment for murdering another person and they choose to accept that punishment when they choose to murder.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

91. Right. People who murder other people deserve to be punished.

But specifically as to the death penalty.....

[JJChambers]

58. There is nothing inherently wrong with the Death Penalty

In cases where there is truly no doubt as to the convicted's guilt, the death penalty should be applied immediately after sentencing by hanging or firing squad. This would be far more cost effective than life in prison. Simply create a new legal standard for DP cases -- change it from beyond a reasonable doubt to beyond any doubt. Require some form of indisputable physical evidence to reach this standard.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

59. Even in circumstances where culpability is not in doubt, there are still many mitigating factors:

Just for example, mental competency, aggravating factors, the subjective "heinous" test used by the state to determine what is and isn't a death penalty case.

To do away with appeals would be an affront to due process in this country.

It's so much easier to eliminate a method of "justice" that has no deterrent effect or real closure effect to victim's loved ones, and is hypocritical in its very nature.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

67. "aggravating factors"

Be very interested to hear what you consider an "aggravating factor" in the rape and murder of a 15 year old girl. Please keep the cold and heartless lawyer-speak rhetoric to a minimum.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

92. Things such as mental competency and other concerns are inevitably going to be factors.

I'm sorry you want to diminish such talk as "cold and heartless lawyer speak", but the law is not supposed to be emotional, irrational and an outlet for revenge and vengeance. No matter how horrific the crime.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

95. Oh, sure

Meanwhile, such lines of defense as "The young lady was being provocative" and "She misled him as to her intentions" from some of our great upstanding defense attorneys in this country is just good solid legal casework and no reason to become "emotional" and "irrational" about the law at all. Save the condescending pap about the nobility and integrity of the criminal defense attorney for someone who would buy it.

[morningfog]

70. There is everything inherently wrong with the death penalty.

That is why most countries ban it and why the US will too.

[JJChambers]

71. No

[morningfog]

73. No what?

You are on the wrong side of history so to speak. The barbaric practice of state sanctioned murder is becoming less palpable across the world and the country. We are in the vast minority of nations still practicing it.

It is always wrong.

[JJChambers]

74. Why?

Why is it always wrong? I say it's only wrong when applied to cases with dubious convictions. In cases where there is literally NO doubt, I think the death penalty COULD be a cost effective, permanent solution to ridding society of it's garbage. Raise the legal standard to require concrete evidence (not eyewitnesses or uncorroborated confessions), reduce the number of appeals to 1, and carry out executions immediately following an unsuccessful appeal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

81. And you will increase the number of people executed who were not guilty

there is a reason why we have the appeal system. Regardless, the US is on the wrong side of history on this one, and the trend now is for it's end. It will come. In my lifetime even.

[JJChambers]

82. No you wont

I strongly prefaced my death penalty advocacy with the stipulation that the standard be raised and death penalty cases require a concrete evidence. When I say concrete evidence, I'm talking about physical, tangible evidence such as DNA, video, and other scientific forensic evidence.

[nadinbrzezinski]

83. Yes you will,

and you are on the wrong side of history. We live in a very vindictive society. Some of our issues are self inflicted. We are not about reducing crime, but only punishing the perps.

If you want to believe that you will reduce innocents getting executing with DNA evidence, I will welcome you to your fantasy.

[JJChambers]

84. You're being illogical

Claiming that raising the standard to a higher level of proof for death penalty sentences will somehow increase the number of innocents executed is just silly.

[nadinbrzezinski]

85. Yup, why a few governors are starting to reject it

as I said, you are welcome to your fantasy, revenge fantasy no less.

As is the cost of a life in prison trial, and keeping the perp in for life is far cheaper than a DP trial. The trail alone averages over 1 million dollars. Keeping the perp in jail and trial cost is much lower. So just from a financial standpoint, it makes sense.

Plus there is ALWAYS the risk of making a mistake. Yes, you could share, highly unlikely, but you could, DNA with an actual perp. Hey DNA did convict, right? And that is where your risk lies.

Here, for your lovely reading

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1003.bobelian.html

[JJChambers]

86. Sigh

I also provided a suggestion to reduce the cost

[nadinbrzezinski]

87. Your solution is with the appeals

I am talking the actual trial, which is the bulk of that cost. We are talking a million dollars average. For that I can keep three to four of these perps, including trial cost, behind bars for the rest of their lives. And if perchance we all made a mistake, it happens, we can free them, with a nice payout. Check the Innocence project for that. Now you cannot quite free somebody if they are four feet under, now can you?

http://www.innocenceproject.org/

Here are some numbers, and my god, I am dated with the data. In California we are talking now in the Billion category

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

And that is before the first appeal is filed.

Just as an economic issue makes sense to get rid of it.

[Major Nikon]

89. So cops, prosecutors, witnesses, investigators, and jurors are completely infallible?

[CFLDem]

63. I agree he got off easy.

Bastards like this should be worked to death.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

68. Not shedding a tear

Sorry.

[MicaelS]

72. I support the DP provided the defendant has competent representation.

I believe some people should be executed because their crime is so reprehensible the people committing them have lost their right to live. I consider them unworthy of rehabilitation or redemption, and it is a waste of time and resources to try and rehabilitate them.

Now, I MIGHT be willing to abolish the DP provided that it was replaced by Life Without Parole, and for the very worst Life Without Parole in Solitary Confinement 23 hours a day.

But as soon as the Death Penalty was abolished, the very next thing that would happen is people would start advocating for the abolition of Life Without Parole on the grounds that it was inhumane, and that the murderer really deserved rehabilitation, redemption and release back into society.

Evidence right here....

http://www.thenation.com/article/170852/life-without-parole-different-death-penalty

[Ticktock]

75. Fresh air

The air i'm breathing today feels a bit fresher knowing it wont be circulated through this particular human's lungs ever again.

I have zero problem with the death penalty. NONE in cases like this.

You commit a crime like this with circumstances like this and you lose all basic rights as a human being, IMHO.

I've got a lot more important things to shed tears over than some degenerate murdering raping pedophile being put to death. Give me a break.

[1awake]

76. While I cant say I feel a bit bad for his death

I am against the death penalty. I am also against life sentences.

[struggle4progress]

79. The murder was 25 years ago by a young man whose thinking at the time was disordered

by his drug dependence. It was a disgusting crime. But IMO there's good reason to think that in many cases such criminals can be rehabilitated

[Donald Ian Rankin]

94. What fraction of an innocent are you willing to kill to execute him?

If the state executes anyone ever, it will sometimes execute the wrong people.

That's not a price worth paying when there are working prisons.