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Clemency denied to death row inmate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon announced late Tuesday that he denied a clemency petition for Roderick Nunley, 50, just hours before Nunley was put to death in Bonne Terre.

Nunley’s execution, originally scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, was put on hold when his attorneys filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus to the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito denied Nunley’s application for a stay of execution, as well as the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

Nunley pleaded guilty to the 1989 kidnap, rape and murder of 15-year-old Ann Harrison, crimes for which he was sentenced to death. Harrison, a high school student at the time of her murder, was waiting in her driveway in Raytown for the school bus when Nunley and Michael Taylor kidnapped her.

Taylor was executed last year, and Nunley was executed by lethal injection at 9:00 p.m. Tuesday and declared dead nine minutes later.

“After deliberate consideration of its merits and the facts of this case, I have denied this petition,” Nixon said in a statement. “As Governor, this is a power and a process I do not take lightly. Each instance involves a very specific set of facts, which must be considered on its own… My decision today upholds this appropriate sentence. I ask that Missourians remember Ann Harrison at this time and keep her parents, Bob and Janel Harrison, and the Harrison family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Nunley’s death came as national attention has begun to focus on Missouri as a new leader in executions.