Pontiac Unit Superintendent Robert L. Taylor, 44, of rural Pontiac, was assassinated by four inmates in his South Cellhouse office around 11 a.m. Sept. 3, 1987. Taylor was stabbed with a 10 inch shank two times in the chest and four times in the back and sustained several blows to the head with a pipe. The inmates, Ike Easley, Roosevelt Lucas, Michael Johnson and David Carter, attacked Taylor in retaliation for the July death of a gang leader who perished after swallowing a plastic bag containing cocaine. Two were given a sentence of death and the others received life sentences. Taylor became Superintendent at Pontiac on March 1, 1986. He started with IDOC as a Youth Supervisor at IYC-St. Charles where he rose through the ranks to become Chief of Security in September 1983. He transferred to Centralia in the same capacity in May 1 984. Taylor was survived by his wife, a son, three daughters, his mother and stepfather, three sisters and four brothers. According to Director Michael P. Lane, “Supt. Taylor was a dedicated and loyal employee who will be greatly missed. This sad occasion, once again, brings home the reality that the nature of our business is dangerous. The senseless taking of his life is a loss to us all. Robert Taylor’s death is a tragedy.”