Michael Taylor Executed in Alabama for 1991 Double Homicide

Alabama death row inmate Michael Shannon Taylor died at 6:10 p.m. on Thursday evening at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. A physician pronounced him dead shortly after Attorney General Steve Marshall authorized the lethal injection at 5:47 p.m. Taylor’s execution concludes a 35-year legal process stemming from the 1991 murders of Ivan and Lucille Moore.

Taylor, who was 19 at the time of the crimes, was sentenced to death for capital murder. He had been absent without leave from the U.S. Navy when he traveled to Gadsden. There, he asked Ivan Moore, 83, for a ride to the couple’s home. Lucille Moore, 79, welcomed Taylor into their residence. The couple offered Taylor food and a chance to use the telephone.

While the Moores were momentarily out of the room, Taylor retrieved a barbell from a duffel bag left outside. He concealed the metal bar inside his shirt. When Ivan Moore returned to the kitchen to check the refrigerator, Taylor struck him in the head. Lucille Moore entered the room to find her husband on the floor. As she attended to him, Taylor repeatedly hit her with the barbell. Ivan Moore crawled away, but Taylor continued striking both victims.

Both victims suffered severe blunt-force injuries to the head that fractured their skulls. Ivan Moore died on the kitchen floor. Lucille Moore remained unconscious and died four days later on November 10, 1991. A neighbor discovered the couple on November 6, two days after the attack.

Taylor fled to Birmingham in the Moores’ 1986 Cadillac. He stole their wallet, purse, and checkbook. Over the following five days, he cashed checks totaling $1,500 and purchased clothing and jewelry. Police arrested Taylor outside the Galleria in Hoover while he attempted to leave in the stolen vehicle. He confessed to beating the couple during a robbery.

Gov. Kay Ivey declined Taylor’s clemency request earlier on Thursday. In a statement, Ivey noted that the Moores “kindly opened their home” to Taylor, who repaid them by beating them to death. Ivey said the state would enforce the law, noting that Taylor is facing final judgment tonight. Attorney General Marshall called the execution “long overdue” for the relatives of the victims.

Marshall highlighted that a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty after finding Taylor guilty on all counts. The trial judge accepted that recommendation. Taylor exhausted his direct appeals and post-conviction remedies, making him eligible for execution in November 2016.

On Wednesday, Taylor visited with 10 guests and took five phone calls. He refused all meal trays but consumed snacks and beverages. On Thursday, he had four visitors and one phone call. He again declined all meals and a final meal request, opting only for assorted drinks. The Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed these details in its release.

Taylor was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder of two or more persons during one act. The jury found him guilty on all charges. His execution marks the end of a case that began when a young man in need accepted a ride from an elderly couple he knew.

The facility recorded the time of death at 6:10 p.m. The execution took place at the same facility where Taylor spent much of his time on death row. The case closed with the confirmation that the state carried out its sentence as ordered by the courts.