Supreme Court upholds death sentence

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of a man found guilty of killing a woman and her three children in 2004.

On Dec. 3, 2004, police found the bodies of Angela Rowe and her children – Alexus Conley, 10; Acqreya Conley, 6; and Tyrese Conley, 5 – in their locked home. All died from gunshots, and the medical examiner said the victims had been dead for two or three weeks.

Leonard Taylor, who was dating Rowe while married to a woman in California, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death in February 2008.

In Tuesday’s opinion, the Supreme Court upheld St. Louis County Circuit Judge James R. Hartenbach’s evidentiary decisions, including the admission of DNA evidence and the results of a phenolphthalein test, which is a test to determine whether blood might be present.

The court also said the trial court did not violate Taylor’s right to a speedy trial, even though the trial was held nearly three years after he was indicted. The trial court granted two continuances sought by Taylor’s public defender to allow the lawyer time to understand the complex case and prepare for trial. In addition, Taylor wasn’t prejudiced by the delay because he was already serving a 100-year sentence for unrelated charges.

The Supreme Court also said the death sentence is “neither excessive nor disproportionate” when compared with cases in which multiple victims were murdered.

Click here to read the 46-page opinion.