State of Missouri executes Michael Tisius

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - “Michael Tisius was executed for the 2000 murders of Jason Acton and Leon Egley on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri,” the Missouri Department of Corrections said. “Tisius was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m.”

Previous coverage is below.

The state of Missouri will be executing Michael Tisius on Tuesday, June 6.

Governor Mike Parson made the announcement Monday afternoon.

“Missouri’s judicial system provided Mr. Tisius with due process and fair proceedings for his brutal murders of two Randolph County jail guards,” Governor Parson said. “Having run a small county jail, I know firsthand the hard work and selflessness displayed by those who work there. It’s despicable that two dedicated public servants were murdered in a failed attempt to help another criminal evade the law. The state of Missouri will carry out Mr. Tisius’s sentences according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”

Michael Tisius, 42, is scheduled to die by injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the small Randolph County Jail on June 22, 2000.

Tisius’ lawyers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution, alleging in their appeals that a juror at a sentencing hearing was illiterate, in violation of Missouri law.

Advocates for Tisius also have said he was largely neglected as a child and was homeless by his early teens. In 1999, as an 18-year-old, he was jailed on a misdemeanor charge for pawning a rented stereo system.

In June 2000, Tisius was housed on the misdemeanor charge at the same county Jail in Huntsville with inmate Roy Vance. Tisius was about to be released, and court records show the men discussed a plan in which Tisius, once he was out, would help Vance escape.

Just after midnight on June 22, 2000, Tisius went to the jail accompanied by Vance’s girlfriend, Tracie Bulington. They told Egley and Acton that they were there to deliver cigarettes to Vance. The jailers didn’t know that Tisius had a pistol.

At trial, Bulington testified that she looked up and saw Tisius with the gun drawn, then watched as he shot and killed Acton. When Egley approached, Tisius shot him, too. Both officers were unarmed.

Tisius found keys at the dispatch area and tried to open Vance’s cell, but couldn’t. When Egley grabbed Bulington’s leg, Tisius shot him several more times.

Tisius and Bulington fled but their car broke down later that day in Kansas. They were arrested in Wathena, Kansas, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) west of Huntsville. Tisius confessed to the crimes.

Bulington and Vance are serving life sentences on murder convictions.

Previous coverage:

Missouri man set for execution on ‘emotional roller coaster,’ attorney says

Federal judge halts execution of Michael Tisius for hearing on juror’s literacy

More organizations call on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to halt the execution of Michael Tisius

American Bar Association urges Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to stop execution of Michael Tisius

Man to be executed in June for killing 2 Missouri jailers