BONNE TERRE, Missouri (AP) — A Missouri inmate was executed early Wednesday after Federal courts and the state’s governor refused last-minute appeals arguing that the execution drug purchased from an unnamed compounding pharmacy could have caused inhuman pain and suffering.
Michael Taylor, 47, who was convicted of abducting, raping and killing a 15-year-old girl as she waited for her school bus in 1989, was pronounced dead shortly at 12:10 a.m.
His victim, Ann Harrison, was in her driveway — carrying her school books, flute and purse — when she was abducted by Taylor and Roderick Nunley.
Nunley also was sentenced to death and is awaiting execution.
Taylor offered no final statement. He mouthed silent words to his parents, two clergymen and other relatives who witnessed his death. As the lethal injection process began, he took two deep breaths before closing his eyes for the last time. There were no obvious signs of distress.
Ann’s father and two of her uncles witnessed Taylor’s execution. They declined to make a public statement.
In their appeals, Taylor’s attorneys questioned Missouri’s use of an unnamed compounding pharmacy to provide the execution drug, pentobarbital. They also cited concerns about the state executing inmates before appeals were complete and argued that Taylor’s original trial attorney was so overworked that she encouraged him to plead guilty.
After using a three-drug execution method for years, Missouri switched late last year to pentobarbital. The same drug was used in three previous Missouri executions, and state officials said none of the inmates showed outward signs of distress.
Still, attorneys for Taylor said using a drug from a compounding pharmacy, which unlike large pharmaceutical companies are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, runs the risk of causing pain and suffering during the execution process.
The Oklahoma-based compounding pharmacy Apothecary Shoppe agreed last week that it wouldn’t supply the pentobarbital for Taylor’s execution, which left Missouri to find a new supplier.
Attorney General Chris Koster’s office disclosed that a new provider had been found. But Koster refused to name the pharmacy, citing the state’s execution protocol that allows for the manufacturer to remain anonymous.
Taylor’s attorneys said use of the drug without naming the compounding pharmacy could cause the inmate pain and suffering because no one could check if the operation was legitimate and had not been accused of any violations.
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