For Immediate Release:
November 5, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Attorney General Steve Marshall tonight issued a statement following the execution of Michael Shannon Taylor by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore:
“Tonight is long overdue for the relatives and loved ones of Ivan and Lucille Moore. Thirty-five years ago, the Moores showed kindness to a young man in need and were callously murdered for it.
No excuse can justify Taylor’s gruesome and brutal crimes, and a jury of his peers agreed with the prosecution. They swiftly found Taylor guilty on all counts and unanimously recommended death, and the trial judge accepted that recommendation.
I commend my office’s incredible Capital Litigation Division for their dedication to this devastatingly grotesque case and for continuing the fight to give Ivan and Lucille the justice their lives deserved.”
Attorney General Marshall cleared the execution to commence at 5:47 p.m.
Michael Taylor’s time of death was 6:10 p.m.
Legal Summary: State of Alabama v. Michael Shannon Taylor
On Nov. 4, 1991, Michael Shannon Taylor, then 19, was in Gadsden while absent without leave from the U.S. Navy. He got a ride to the home of Ivan and Lucille Moore, an elderly couple he knew. Upon arriving, he left a duffel bag outside the house and asked Mr. Moore, 83, if he could use their telephone. Mr. Moore offered Taylor a snack, Mrs. Moore, 79, came in to say hello, and the two then left the room for a moment. In their absence, Taylor slipped outside and retrieved a barbell from his duffel bag, which he hid in his shirt. Back in the house, Mr. Moore asked if Taylor would like anything else to eat. Taylor said he would, and while Mr. Moore was looking in the refrigerator, Taylor began striking him in the head with the barbell.
Mrs. Moore then came into the kitchen and found her husband on the floor. As she attended to her husband, Taylor repeatedly struck her with the barbell. As Mr. Moore tried to crawl away, Taylor hit him repeatedly. Mrs. Moore tried to plead with Taylor, and he hit her again. Taylor then stole Mr. Moore’s wallet, Mrs. Moore’s purse, a checkbook and their 1986 Cadillac.
He drove to Birmingham, where he cashed several checks totaling $1,500 and made several clothing and jewelry purchases over the next five days.
A neighbor discovered the Moores on Nov. 6. By then, Mr. Moore had died on his kitchen floor. Mrs. Moore was still unconscious when found, but she died from her injuries on Nov. 10. The cause of death for both was severe blunt-force injuries to the head, resulting in fractured skulls.
Taylor was arrested outside the Galleria in Hoover after trying to leave in the Moores’ stolen Cadillac. He confessed to beating the Moores during a robbery. He was indicted on two counts of murder in the first degree and one count of murder of two or more persons during one act. The jury found Taylor guilty on all counts and unanimously recommended the death penalty, which the trial judge accepted.
Taylor became eligible for execution in November 2016 after exhausting his direct appeals and post-conviction remedies.
A photo of Ivan and Lucille Moore can be viewed here.
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