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 Leon Taylor, 56, was pronounced dead at 12:22 a.m. at a Missouri
state prison after a lethal injection, Missouri Department of
Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell said in a statement.
Taylor shot Robert Newton, 53, in the head as Newton's 8-year-old
stepdaughter watched at an Independence, Missouri, gas station in
1994. She testified that Taylor had tried to shoot her as well but
the gun jammed.
Taylor's lawyers had sought to have the U.S. Supreme Court stay the
execution but the court denied the request without comment,
according to court documents.
The attorneys also petitioned Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for
clemency. Nixon denied that petition on Tuesday, saying Taylor
"murdered in cold blood."
Newton's half brother, Dennis Smith, said during a news briefing
that he remained bitter over the killing.
 "Leon Taylor did more than just rob the store. He robbed our family,
my brother, forever," Smith said. "Almost 7,500 days have passed and
finally tonight justice was served."
Taylor was the ninth inmate executed in Missouri in 2014 and the
33rd person executed in the United States this year, according to
the Death Penalty Information Center.
Taylor left a final written statement in which he apologized to the
family of the victim.
"I am truly sorry that our lives had to entwine so tragically. I
pray that the Lord will give you peace and continue to comfort you
in His love," Taylor wrote.
His last meal was eggs, bacon, donuts and orange drink, according to
the corrections department.
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Part of Taylor's appeal was tied to a 2002 ruling by the Supreme
Court that found only a jury, and not a judge, could impose a death
sentence. Racial discrimination also played a role, according to
Taylor's attorneys.
The mixed-race jury in Taylor's first trial deadlocked on a sentence
and a judge sentenced him to death. Taylor appealed and in a second
punishment trial an all-white jury ordered the death sentence.
Taylor was black and Newton was white.
Taylor's attorneys also contended that the execution should have
been postponed until there was a ruling in a lawsuit brought by
several Missouri inmates, including Taylor, against the state over
its lethal injection protocols.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Ian Simpson in
Washington, and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Janet
Lawrence)
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