USA - Alabama. Michael Taylor was executed by lethal injection on November 5

November 5, 2026 - Alabama. Michael Taylor was executed by lethal injection on November 5

Taylor, 54, White, was executed at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, the only prison in Alabama with an execution chamber. Taylor had opted to die by breathing in nitrogen gas; but, in an unusual move, the Department of Corrections didn’t honor his choice and instead used lethal injection.

At 5:50 the warden asked if Taylor had any last words, to which he said, "No, sir."

The process began between 5:51 and 5:52.

Taylor stared at the ceiling unblinking for about 10 seconds before glancing at a man dressed in a blue button up shirt, who was later confirmed to be a volunteer chaplain acting as Taylor's spiritual advisor. Taylor gave him a facial expression between a small smile and a grimace, and nodded. His spiritual advisor approached the gurney and placed his hands on Taylor's left foot and appeared to pray over or with him. The line tugged from behind the wall as Taylor's eyes began to droop and appeared to unfocus, with his spiritual advisor continuing to speak. 

Between 5:53 and 5:54: Taylor's face appeared to slack, with breaths coming very shallowly every three seconds - shallow to the point where an observer must focus intently to see it. He continued to breathe this way, though at decreasing visibility, until 5:57. Taylor's hips and left leg appeared to twitch minutely a few times. Taylor's eyes appeared to close and would stay closed until 5:58. 

At 5:55 a member of the Alabama Department of Corrections' personnel stepped forward to the other side of the gurney, by Taylor's head, and loudly called out, "Mr. Taylor." The ADOC personnel member performed a slow body scan with his eyes, and upon finding no response, swept a finger beneath Taylor's eyelashes. After no visible response from Taylor, the ADOC personnel member pinched Taylor's inner left bicep, which also produced no physical response. 

Between 5:56 and 5:57: Taylor's feet appeared to curl inwards, with the tips of his toes straining toward his chest, then flex back out. This is the last time Taylor was observed breathing.

At 5:58 Taylor's eyes appeared to barely slit open and glaze over. They appeared to be rolling back into his head. Taylor's mouth appeared to just barely hang open. If Taylor was breathing at this point, it was not visible. 

At 5:59 Taylor had no perceptible movement. 

At 6:00 the drapes were drawn closed. One of his attorneys in the witness chamber sniffled.

Taylor was pronounced dead at 6:10p.m. CT / 7:10 p.m. ET.

Taylor was sentenced to death in 1993 for the November 1991 beating deaths of an elderly couple, 83-year-old Ivan Moore and 79-year-old Lucille Moore during a robbery at their home in Gadsden. At the time, Taylor was 19, and absent without leave from the Navy.

Taylor becomes the 3rd person executed this year in Alabama, the 86th since the state resumed executions in 1983, the 34th execution of the year in the US, and the n° 1688 overall since the nation resumed executions in 1977.