Roderick Nunley Executed in Missouri

Roderick Nunley, Missouri

September 1, 2015

Roderick Nunley was executed by the state of Missouri on Tuesday, September 1, 2015. Roderick was pronounced dead at 9:09 pm CDT, inside the execution chamber at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Corrections Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Fifty-year-old Roderick was sentenced to death for his part in the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 15-year-old Ann Harrison on March 22, 1989, in Raytown, Missouri. Roderick spent the last 24 years of his life on death row in Missouri.

Roderick’s execution was delayed about three hours while the Supreme Court of the United States considered various appeals.

According to family members, Roderick had a troubled childhood. Roderick was also known to make poor decisions when using cocaine.

On the evening of March 21, 1989, Roderick Nunley and his friend Michael Taylor got together, smoking crack cocaine. Then they decided to steal a car and drive around, evading the police who tried to pull them over for a broken tail light.

Around 7 am on March 22, Nunley was driving. Taylor spotted high-school freshman Ann Harrison in the driveway of her home, waiting for her school bus. Taylor allegedly told Nunley that he wanted to steal her purse. Nunley stopped the car and Taylor exited. He spoke to the girl, grabbed her, and forced her into the car. Nunley drove all three of them to his mother’s house.

Once there, they forced Ann out of the vehicle. She was then forced to crawl down to the basement where Taylor raped her and Nunley assisted by providing lubricant. After raping Ann, they tied her up and put her in the trunk of the stolen vehicle, saying they were going to call her parents for ransom money. However, fearing Ann would be able to identify them, Taylor and Nunley decided to kill her. After retrieving two knives from the kitchen, Taylor and Nunley stabbed Ann a total of ten times and left her to die. It took approximately 30 minutes for Ann to die.

After killing Ann, Taylor and Nunley drove the stolen vehicle to a nearby neighborhood and left it, with Ann still in the trunk. It was several days before Ann’s body was discovered.

Taylor and Nunley both confessed although neither confessed to raping Ann, each blaming the other. Both men were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. DNA testing later showed that Taylor raped Ann. Taylor was executed on February 26, 2014.

Pray for peace and healing for the family of Ann Harrison. Pray for the family of Roderick Nunley.

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