John,
Missouri plans on executing Leonard “Raheem” Taylor tomorrow for a crime he’s always said he did not commit.
Please, call 573-400-0357 to urge Gov. Mike Parson to grant Raheem a reprieve and appoint an independent board of inquiry to fully investigate his claim of innocence now.
Leonard "Raheem" Taylor facing execution on Feb. 7 in Missouri. (Image: Paul Crane/ MacArthur Justice Center)
Raheem was convicted for the 2004 murder of his girlfriend, Angela Rowe, and her three children in St. Louis, and has maintained his innocence for nearly 20 years.
He had an alibi that should have proven his innocence immediately — he was nearly 2,000 miles away, in California, meeting his 13-year-old daughter at the time of the murders. His daughter even said in a sworn statement that she remembers talking to Angela and one of her daughters over the phone while she was with her father.
But during the trial — with no sound explanation — the medical examiner drastically changed the time of death estimation, widening the potential time period for the murders, which supported the prosecution’s argument that the murders took place before Raheem left for California.
Raheem is asking for a chance to have his innocence claims fully investigated and reviewed before it’s too late.
To date, nearly 200 people have been exonerated from death row, including four people in Missouri. They are proof that the death penalty poses a fatal risk to innocent people. We can’t let Raheem suffer this same fate.
Dial 573-400-0357 or click this link to call Gov. Parson, and tell him to stop the execution of Raheem Taylor before Missouri carries out an irreversible injustice.
Thank you,
The Innocence Project Team
P.S. You can read more about Raheem’s story in this new article from The Intercept.
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