2000 Wilkinsburg shooting

In 2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Taylor's death sentence and rejected a new trial. In January 2006, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed a death warrant ordering Taylor to be executed on February 28 of that year via lethal injection. For unknown reasons, the execution was halted.

In an attempt to sway the jury away from imposing the death penalty, the defense brought in Taylor's family to testify on his behalf. Taylor's brother Charles testified under oath that their father abused and threatened young Ronald. Charles stated the emotional trauma stayed with Ronald growing up. Their mother Shirly testified that "Ron is not a racist. I did not raise my children to hate white people". Instead she stated her son suffered in social situations, rather spending his time confined and that the "noise got to him". Two jurors were reportedly overheard crying during the testimony. Taylor's defense argued multiple factors that weighed against the death penalty, including his lack of a criminal record and previous mental health issues. Dr. Horacio Fabrega argued that on the day of the shooting Taylor had been under large amount of stress, including worries that the lease at his apartment would not be renewed. Fabrega also testified that Taylor believed there was a conspiracy against blacks and other minorities. Combined, Fabrega said this created a "psychotic storm". Fabrega, however, did acknowledge that Taylor was aware of the severity of his actions, but claimed that Taylor believed they were the right things to do under his imagined circumstances. After two days of deliberating, the jury unanimously came to the decision to sentence Taylor to death. He showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Taylor was formally sentenced to death on January 11, 2002.

In September 2000, prosecutors announced that they were seeking the death penalty for Taylor. In April 2001 Taylor was transferred to the Allegheny County Jail in downtown Pittsburgh to await trial. The trial began on November 1, 2001, and lasted only eight days. Taylor pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing years of mental illness. Prosecutors argued that Taylor was not as mentally unwell as he let on and was diverting blame away from himself. On November 8, Taylor was convicted on 46 criminal charges; three counts of first-degree murder, nine counts of aggravated assault, four counts of terroristic threats, two counts of unlawful restraint, four counts of simple assault, 16 counts of reckless endangerment, one count of arson, one count of catastrophe, one count of risking a catastrophe, one count of carrying a gun without a license, and for perpetrating a hate crime. Jurors were then left to decide whether Taylor should be sentenced to death or to life in prison.

On March 1, 2000, a shooting spree took place in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, when 39-year-old Ronald Taylor opened fire on five people within an eight block radius. Three of the five people he shot died while the other two survived. Taylor surrendered to police later that day and was sentenced to death in 2002. The shooting spree is believed to have been racially motivated due to all the victims being white and Taylor, an African American, was known to have been prejudice towards white people.

At about 9 a.m. on March 1, 2000, two maintenance workers John Dewitt and 55-year-old John Kroll arrived at the apartment of 39-year-old Ronald Taylor to replace Taylor's door. When Taylor answered the door, he began taunting both with insults about them being white, according to Dewitt, who claimed Taylor said "You white, racist, pig". Nevertheless, the two began work. At around 10:30 a.m., after taking off the old door Dewitt and Kroll started working on implementing the new door, while Taylor kept on harassing them. Eventually, Dewitt told Taylor "Why don't you just shut up". Afterwards, Taylor said to Dewitt "You're dead". As the job was almost done, a woman downstairs from Taylor called upstairs and asked if one of the maintenance workers could come and help her with a locked bedroom door. Dewitt said he could and walked downstairs, while Kroll finished the job. When Kroll was done implementing the door, he walked downstairs to meet a coworker named Andrew Williams.

Friends of Taylor reported that they were "stunned" to hear that Taylor had committed the shootings. David Ellis, an acquaintance of Taylor, said that Taylor "never caused any trouble I knew of". They also reported to be "shocked" about the accusations of Taylor being racist. Neighbors of Taylor described him as "quiet" and someone who "didn't start any trouble". Taylor rarely met with his family members and spent a large amount of time in isolation. Taylor did have a history of mental illness and one professional, Dr. Horacio Fabrega, who would testify for Taylor's defense, described Taylor as "delusional". Fabrega also said that Taylor had once burned an image of Jesus Christ under the belief that God "turned bad". The revolver Taylor used in the shootings he had stolen from his mother, which she bought in 1982.

Taylor grew up in the prominently African American Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When he was young he was diagnosed with asthma. He attended Fifth Avenue High School until it closed in 1976; afterwards he attended Letsche Education Center. At the time of the shooting spree Taylor lived in the Woodside Garden Apartments and was unemployed, living off of Supplemental Security Income and food stamp benefits which totaled between $600 and $700 a month.

Ronald Taylor (born September 30, 1960) was the man responsible for the shooting spree. He had no prior criminal record.