26 February 2014 :

Michael Taylor was executed in Missouri. Taylor, 47, Black, was sentenced for his role the March 22, 1989 raping and slaying of Ann Harrison, 15, who was kidnapped at gun point as the girl was waiting at the school bus stop. Taylor 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. The U.S. Supreme Court denied several petitions on Tuesday night for a last-minute stay or further judicial review sought on Taylor's behalf by his attorney, John Simon.
Taylor becomes the 2° inmate executed this year in Missouri, the 72nd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989, the 9th inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1368th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.