A Missouri man was executed by lethal injection Tuesday evening for the 2004 murders of his girlfriend and her three young children, maintaining his innocence until the end as his final written statement invoked his Islamic faith. Leonard “Raheem” Taylor, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. at the Potosi Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, concluding a nearly two-decade legal battle that his supporters argue was marred by unreliable evidence and a disputed timeline.
The execution proceeded after a final, unsuccessful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and a denied clemency plea to Governor Mike Parson. Taylor’s spiritual adviser was also barred from the execution chamber. His death marks the third execution carried out by Missouri since November, reigniting debates over capital punishment and wrongful conviction.
Taylor was convicted in 2008 of four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Angela Rowe, 28, and her children: Alexis, 10; AcQreya, 6; and Tyrese, 5. Their bodies were discovered on December 3, 2004, in their Jennings home, each victim suffering gunshot wounds described by authorities as execution-style.
The prosecution’s case hinged on a contested timeline. Security footage proved Taylor flew from St. Louis to Ontario, California, on November 26, 2004, to meet his teenage daughter for the first time. If the victims died after that date, Taylor could not have been the killer.
The original medical examiner estimated a time of death within two to three days before discovery, placing it after Taylor’s departure. By trial, the examiner revised his estimate to up to three weeks prior, citing the home’s air conditioning as a factor slowing decomposition. This revision placed Taylor in Missouri at the time of the murders.
Other key evidence included a statement from Taylor’s brother, Perry, who told police Leonard confessed. Perry later recanted that statement at trial, alleging police coercion. He died in 2015. Investigators also cited DNA from Rowe on Taylor’s glasses and a claim he discarded a gun before his flight, though no weapon was ever recovered.
In his final appeals, Taylor’s defense presented affidavits from an independent forensic pathologist disputing the revised time of death. They also highlighted statements from his California hosts that they spoke to Rowe after Taylor arrived, suggesting she was alive in his absence.
Organizations, including the Midwest Innocence Project and the NAACP, pleaded with Governor Parson for intervention, warning Missouri was “going to execute an innocent man.” Parson denied clemency, calling Taylor’s claims “self-serving,” and courts at every level declined to halt the process.
In his final hours, Taylor was described as calm and at peace, accepting “Allah’s will.” He declined to speak in the execution chamber, instead releasing a prepared written statement. It opened with verses from the Quran and continued, “Muslims don’t die, we live eternally… from Allah we come, and to Allah we all shall return.”
He concluded with the word, “Peace.” Witnesses reported he moved his feet and took several deep breaths after the pentobarbital injection began, before all movement ceased.
Following the execution, Angela Rowe’s sister, Gena, offered a conflicted statement to reporters: “Justice is served. Not really.” The victims’ families had long awaited the execution, while innocence advocates declared a profound failure.
The Midwest Innocence Project stated Taylor’s life was “stolen by unreliable testimony and unscientific conclusions.” They cited national studies estimating over 4% of death row inmates may be factually innocent.
Missouri officials maintained the legal process was thorough and just. The case leaves unresolved questions about forensic science, witness reliability, and the finality of the death penalty, ensuring the debate over Leonard Taylor’s guilt and the system that condemned him will persist long after his execution.