Bio

George Bernard Harris was born on February 9, 1959, in Newport, Arkansas. He later relocated to Missouri, spending much of his life in the Kansas City area, where he was commonly known by the moniker "Baby." Prior to the events of 1989, Harris compiled a documented history of criminal activity that began during his youth.

On February 26, 1976, law enforcement authorities in Kansas City arrested the seventeen-year-old Harris on charges of first-degree robbery. Following judicial proceedings in September 1976, he received an eight-year sentence within the Missouri Department of Corrections. By the late 1980s, Harris was back in the community but remained involved in local gambling circles and illicit activities, setting the stage for the escalating violence that occurred in March 1989.

Murder Story

On the morning of March 11, 1989, Harris participated in a craps game in Kansas City, Missouri, where he won a significant sum of cash. Later that day, an acquaintance seeking funds approached Harris to pawn two automatic firearms—an Uzi and a .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun. Harris agreed to the transaction, paid the individual $500, and placed the weapons in the trunk of his vehicle. Concerned about the security of the firearms, Harris asked an associate, Michael Taylor, to store them temporarily. Harris, along with Rodney Butler, Ross Talliferro, and Stanley "Hank" Willoughby, followed Taylor to his residence.

Upon arrival, Willoughby took the box of firearms from Harris's vehicle to bring it inside. However, Butler objected to having the weapons in the house. Willoughby then handed the box to Taylor’s younger brothers, Anthony and Cortez, instructing them to hide the package nearby. The youths concealed the firearms under bushes in the backyard without disclosing the exact location to Willoughby. Harris then departed the scene. 

Later that evening, Harris returned to the home seeking his firearms, stating he intended to execute a drive-by shooting against individuals who had insulted him. When Taylor and Willoughby explained that the young brothers had hidden the weapons and their precise location was unknown, an argument ensued. Willoughby went outside to search for the box but returned empty-handed, prompting Harris to threaten his life.

The confrontation escalated in the living room, where only Harris, Taylor, and Willoughby remained. When Willoughby stated that Harris would have to wait for the teenagers to return to locate the box, Harris produced a .41-caliber Ruger Blackhawk magnum revolver from his waistband and shot Willoughby in the face and neck, severing his carotid artery. Willoughby collapsed outside and died from his injuries before reaching medical transit. Shortly after the shooting, Butler discovered the hidden weapons and placed them on the porch. 

Harris retrieved the machine guns and fled the scene.Law enforcement authorities apprehended Harris four days later, on March 15, 1989, in Columbia, Missouri, following his involvement in an unrelated armed robbery. On March 22, 1989, a Jackson County grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder and armed criminal action. His trial commenced on February 5, 1990, resulting in a guilty verdict on February 10, 1990. 

The jury recommended the death penalty, which the circuit court formally imposed on July 30, 1990. Harris spent a decade pursuing state and federal post-conviction appeals, all of which were systematically denied. Following the exhaustion of his legal remedies, the Missouri State Supreme Court issued an execution warrant. Harris was executed by lethal injection on September 13, 2000, at the state correctional facility in Missouri.