Leon Vincent Taylor, who killed a suburban Kansas City gas station attendant in front of the worker’s young stepdaughter in 1994, was put to death early Wednesday — the ninth execution in Missouri this year, says the Associated Press. Taylor, 56, was pronounced dead at 12:22 a.m. at the state prison in Bonne Terre, minutes after receiving a lethal injection. The latest Missouri execution ties 2014 with 1999 for the most in a year in the state.
Taylor shot worker Robert Newton to death in front of Newton’s 8-year-old stepdaughter during a gas station robbery in Independence. Taylor tried to kill the girl, too, but the gun jammed. Taylor apologized the victim’s family before he was executed. Once the state started injecting 5 grams of pentobarbital, Taylor’s chest heaved for several seconds then stopped. His jaw went slack and he displayed no other movement during the procedure, which last about eight minutes. There were no hitches or complications with the drug or equipment.