Florida man exonerated after child assault conviction charged with attempted murder

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida man recently exonerated after serving 33 years on a wrongful child assault conviction is accused of attempted murder, authorities said.

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Edward Clayton Taylor, 57, of Jacksonville, was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Duval County online court booking records.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the victim was hospitalized with injuries not considered to be life-threatening.

The new charges were a devastating blow to Taylor’s mother, who worked for years to get her son’s conviction for the sexual assault of a then-4-year-old overturned.

“My heart is being stripped out into pieces. I can’t explain to anybody how I feel,” Agnes Anderson told WJAX-TV.

Anderson had worked for years to clear her son’s name after he was convicted for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old.

The State Attorney’s Office said Taylor was wrongfully convicted after the victim of the sexual assault misidentified him for his brother, who is serving a life sentence for armed robbery in Georgia, the television station reported. After Taylor was released on parole in 2019, the office investigated, and the court overturned the conviction.

His case was formally vacated by Judge London Kite on May 20, according to WJAX.

Anderson said her son suffered trauma during his years in prison.

“I was there the entire time. I know a lot of the hurt and pain,” Anderson told the television station. “I don’t know what he was going through in his mind, but I know he was in a lot of pain, mental pain. I told him, ‘You really have got to go back to that therapist.’”

Anderson said her son stopped seeing his therapist shortly before Friday’s incident.

“He got out, and I don’t know if he got up with the wrong people that he started hanging around with or what,” Anderson told WJAX.

Court documents state that surveillance video showed Taylor approach the victim and shoot him in the chest. He then drove away as a group of men fired weapons at him.

According to court documents, surveillance video shows Taylor walk up to the victim and shoot him in the chest. He then drives off in his car while a group of men fire at him. Police said the victim had non-life-threatening injuries.

David Chapman, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office, said the department will review the new charge, WJAX reported.

According to online booking records, Taylor remains in custody with bail set at $1.1 million.


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