According to court documents, Taylor was absent without leave from the Navy at the time of the crime when the couple gave him a ride. He asked to use the telephone inside their home before beating them to death. Prior to his execution, Taylor's legal team filed appeals arguing that the state was violating its own laws by using lethal injection after he had requested nitrogen gas, though the state courts did not block the procedure.
Taylor's execution concluded a rare day that saw three capital punishments carried out across the United States. He was the third person executed by the state of Alabama.
