Alabama Executes Michael Taylor for 1991 Killings, Last of 3 Executions Carried Out the Same Day
Taylor’s Alabama execution
Michael Taylor, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. local time after a lethal injection in Alabama. Asked whether he had final words, he said, “no sir,” then appeared to mouth “thank you” to his attorneys.
In 1991, when he was 19, Taylor beat Ivan and Lucille Moore, ages 83 and 79, with a metal bar during a robbery at their Gadsden home. Police arrested him in Birmingham an hour later with the couple’s Cadillac.
Dispute over execution method
Death penalty opponents asked Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to change Taylor’s sentence to life in prison, citing his age and immaturity at the time. Ivey declined and later described his actions as “reprehensible.”
Alabama used lethal injection after a judge ruled the nitrogen gas method unconstitutional. Taylor’s attorneys challenged the late change, saying he had chosen nitrogen gas years earlier, but a judge ruled against him.
Three states execute men
Florida executed Jesse Guardado at 6:13 p.m. after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Jackie Malone, 75, in her Walton County home in 2004. Indiana executed Jeffrey Weisheit for killing his girlfriend’s two children in a 2010 house fire; he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.
Three states carrying out executions on one day remains unusual. It has happened twice since August, while the previous instance before this year was in 2010.
Contrasting approaches to capital punishment
Florida’s 19th execution of the year tied a state record. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the warrants behind the 2025 executions, and the state would set a new record if two more proceed as planned.
On the same day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would commute all 548 death sentences in his state, arguing that “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values.” The executions also came amid renewed scrutiny of capital punishment after Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike in September.
Key points
- Alabama executed Michael Taylor for killing Ivan and Lucille Moore during a 1991 robbery.
- Taylor’s lethal injection was the last of three U.S. executions carried out that day.
- Florida’s execution of Jesse Guardado tied the state record at 19 executions in 2025.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to commute 548 death sentences.