A man convicted of killing his girlfriend and three children was executed in the US state of Missouri despite claiming he was in another state when the killings took place.
Raheem Taylor, 58, was the third inmate executed at Bonne Terre State Prison since November and it became the nation’s fifth execution this year. All were killed by lethal injection.
In a final statement he said Muslims do not die but “live eternally in the hearts of our family and friends”.
“Death is not your enemy, it is your destiny. I look forward to meeting it. Peace!” she wrote in the statement.
Taylor, who formerly went by the name Leonard, had long claimed he was in California when Angela Rowe, her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, six-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley and five-year-old son Tyrese Conley were killed in 2004.
Its supporters included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), nearly three dozen religious and civil rights groups, and the Midwest Innocence Project.
But his claims have been repeatedly rejected.
Last week, St Louis County Attorney Wesley Bell, a Democrat, denied Taylor’s request for a hearing before a judge, saying “the facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence.”
Speaking after the execution, Ms Rowe’s sister Gerauan said moving on remains difficult more than 18 years after she has lost her sister, nieces and nephew.
“I’m at a point in my life right now — I’m fine but I’m not,” she said. “But I know justice has been done. It’s kind of hard trying to move forward, but I think I can do it.”
All four were shot just days after their bodies were found
Taylor and Mrs. Rowe lived with their children in a house in St Louis.
He boarded a flight to California on November 26, 2004. Police were sent to the Jennings home on December 3 after concerned relatives said they had not heard from Ms. Rowe.
Officers found the bodies of Mrs Rowe and her children – all four had been killed.
A coroner’s initial finding was that the murders likely occurred within days of the bodies being discovered, when Taylor was still in California.
Relatives and neighbors saw Rowe alive after Taylor left St Louis, the attorney said
But at Taylor’s trial, coroner Phillip Burch said the murders may have occurred two to three weeks before the bodies were discovered.
Taylor’s attorney Kent Gipson said several people, including Ms. Rowe’s relatives and a neighbor, saw her alive in the days following Taylor’s departure from St. Louis.
Taylor’s daughter in California, Deja Taylor, said in a court filing that she and her father called Ms. Rowe and one of the children during her visit. The court filing said Ms Taylor’s mother and sister confirmed her story.
“Nonsense” declaration of innocence and “completely made up” alibis
Bob McCulloch, who was the St Louis County prosecutor-elect at the time of the murders, told the Associated Press that Taylor’s claim of innocence was “nonsense” and the alibis given by his daughter and relatives were ” completely made up”.
He said evidence suggests Ms. Rowe and her children were killed on the night of Nov. 22-23, when Taylor was still in St Louis.
Mr McCulloch said DNA from Ms Rowe’s blood was found on Taylor’s glasses when he was arrested and a relative driving him to the airport saw him throw a gun down the drain, while Taylor’s brother told the police who had admitted to the crime.
Authorities believe Taylor shot Ms Rowe during a violent argument and then killed her children because they were witnesses.
