Missouri executes Leon Taylor for 1994 murder

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — Missouri has executed Leon Taylor for killing a suburban Kansas City gas station attendant in 1994.

Earlier, Missouri's governor denied clemency for Taylor, clearing the way for his lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.

Gov. Jay Nixon denied Taylor's petition Tuesday night less than two hours before he was scheduled to be put to death. Earlier Tuesday, the nation's highest court rejected two appeals from Taylor.

The 56-year-old Taylor killed gas station attendant Robert Newton in suburban Kansas City in 1994, in front of Newton's 8-year-old stepdaughter. In denying clemency, Nixon pointed out that if Taylor's gun hadn't jammed, the girl would have died too.

Taylor is the ninth man put to death in Missouri this year and the 11th since November 2013.