On February 7, the state of Missouri executed Leonard “Raheem” Taylor for the 2004 murders of Angela Rowe, Alexus Conley, Acqreya Conley, and Tyrese Conley. Mr. Taylor – who had maintained his innocence throughout his arrest, trial, conviction, and prison sentence – had previously made a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The Missouri courts, however, found that even assuming the particular deficiencies that Mr. Taylor alleged to be true, the overwhelming majority of the case’s evidence beyond a reasonable doubt was in favor of Mr. Taylor’s guilt. In an effort to spare Mr. Taylor’s life, the Missouri bishops signed a letter requesting Missouri Governor Mike Parson to grant Mr. Taylor clemency and commute his sentence to life without parole. Despite this letter, however, Governor Parson did not grant clemency for the second executed criminal of the year, and third since last November.
The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to the death penalty because it disregards the sanctity and dignity of human life.