Roderick Nunley: Inmate To Finally Be Executed After Raping And Killing A 15-Year-Old Girl Two Decades Ago

Some say Roderick Nunley should have been executed over 20 years ago for the heinous crime of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl. But, unless the courts step in, Nunley is finally facing lethal injection on Tuesday to be executed for the crime he committed back in 1989.

According to the Huffington Post, Roderick Nunley entered a plea to the United States Supreme Court to stay his execution, claiming that the death penalty is unconstitutional. It is unclear at this point if the court will even have time to acknowledge Nunley’s request, but the detective who helped put Roderick Nunley behind bars, Pete Edlund, thinks the idea of Nunley further delaying his execution is ridiculous because he should have put to death a long time ago.

“They just take forever to do the deed,” Edlund said to the the Associated Press. “The delay in executing these two is just nuts because it didn’t have anything to do with their guilt. It was legal mumbo jumbo nonsense.”

In 1989, Roderick Nunley was convicted for kidnapping 15-year-old Ann Harrison while she stood at a Kansas City bus stop, then raping her and killing her with the help of an accomplice. His co-defendant, Michael Taylor, was also convicted and has already been executed for the crime after decades on death row.

According to Fox 2 Now, the Missouri Supreme Court denied the motion filed by Roderick Nunley to stay the execution and also denied his writ of habeas corpus, forcing the inmate to appeal to the highest court in the country.

In a last desperate effort to halt his final punishment, Roderick Nunley entered the appeal through his defense attorney Jennifer Herndo, who argued that the death penalty violates the 8th Amendment of the Constitution “under prevailing standards of decency.” Essentially, Roderick Nunley and his lawyer are claiming that the lethal injection itself qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.

But Pete Edlund claims that the crimes committed by Roderick Nunley and Michael Taylor were not only cruel on their own, they are certainly deserving of capitol punishment. Edlund also said that the death of Ann Harrison was especially traumatic for the people of Kansas City because her father and uncle were members of the police department.

“To all of us, she was part of our police family,” said the detective. “That made it even more important that we solve the case.”

Unless the Supreme Court approves the motion, Roderick Nunley will be executed via lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Do you think Roderick Nunley is overdue to be put to death?

[Image credit: Kansas City Police Department]