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Missouri executed man with appeals still pending

Published

2 years ago

February 10, 2023

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(AP) – The attorney for a man who was executed this week is calling for an investigation, accusing Missouri officials of moving ahead with the lethal injection while federal appeals were pending.

Raheem Taylor, 58, was executed Tuesday night for the 2004 deaths of his girlfriend and her three children in suburban St. Louis. Taylor claimed he was out of state when the family was killed. Investigators don’t deny he was in California when the bodies were found but a medical examiner determined the victims had died up to three weeks earlier — at a time when Taylor was still in Missouri.

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The innocence claim was turned aside repeatedly in the days leading up to the execution. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, a Democrat, declined to ask a judge for a new hearing, stating the “facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence.”

Republican Gov. Mike Parson denied clemency, saying evidence showed that “Taylor committed these atrocities and a jury found him guilty.” The Missouri Supreme Court declined to grant a stay on Monday, and the U.S. Supreme Court did the same about two hours before the execution.

While appeals over Taylor’s claims of innocence had been exhausted, Taylors attorneys asked a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay because Taylor’s spiritual adviser, Anthony Shahid, was not allowed to be in the execution room. A Supreme Court decision last year allows inmates to have spiritual advisers near them at executions. The appeal also questioned why two lawyers who supported Taylor couldn’t witness the execution.

“It was being appealed at the time they killed him,” Kent Gipson, an attorney for Taylor, said Thursday. “And although there technically wasn’t a stay in place, they’ve never done this before — this has never happened before in almost 100 executions. That’s what’s disturbing about it.”

Taylor’s lawyers urged an internal investigation by the Missouri Department of Corrections and investigations by “other law enforcement agencies.”

Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, said there was no reason not to move ahead with the execution.

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“As there was no stay in place, the Attorney General’s Office fulfilled its legal obligation to notify the Governor’s Office and the Department of Corrections at the appropriate time that there was no legal impediment to carrying out the execution warrant set forth by the Missouri Supreme Court,” Sieren said in a statement on Thursday.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said Taylor initially declined to have Shahid with him for the execution. He changed his mind over the weekend but by then it was too late to change the witness list because the prison needs time to conduct background checks, Pojmann said. The lawyers also sought approval to be witnesses too late, she said.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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