Congresswoman Bush Statement Following Missouri’s Execution of Leonard “Raheem” Taylor
Washington, D.C. (February 7, 2023) — Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) released the following statement after the State of Missouri executed Leonard “Raheem” Taylor at 6:16 PM PM CT. Mr. Taylor was killed by the State despite significant evidence of innocence, including sworn testimony and expert analyses indicating that Mr. Taylor was thousands of miles away when the offenses for which he was convicted occurred.
“Missouri failed Raheem Taylor. Every public official who had the power to intervene but didn’t failed Raheem Taylor,” said Congresswoman Bush. “Despite a credible case of innocence, Mr. Taylor was repeatedly denied the mercy that he and every person facing capital punishment deserve. Raheem’s case demonstrates the systemic rot of our criminal legal system, which not only fails to prevent violence but actually commits heinous violence itself, even when a person may be innocent. When will our State officials realize that destroying more families will never achieve justice? That failing to intervene and stop injustice when you have the power to do so makes you complicit in that injustice? There is no place in a humane society for state-sanctioned violence — it’s archaic, barbaric, cold-hearted, and downright inhumane. There are more individuals whose executions are set to be scheduled by the State of Missouri, sanctioned by our Deadly Governor Mike Parson. We must refuse to allow another life to be taken by our government. We must abolish the death penalty.”
Since first coming to Congress, Congresswoman Bush has been a national leader in the push for clemency reform and death penalty abolition. In February 2021, the Congresswoman urged President Biden to use his pardon power to correct legacies of injustice in the clemency process, including by commuting the sentences of every person on federal death row. In December 2021, Congresswoman Bush, alongside Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), introduced the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act, historic legislation that would transform our nation’s broken clemency system and address the growing mass incarceration crisis. She is also a proud cosponsor of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, which would end the federal government’s use of the death penalty.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush sits on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, serves as the Progressive Caucus Deputy Whip, and proudly represents St. Louis as a politivist in the halls of the United States Congress.