Brian Dorsey, a 52-year-old Missouri death row inmate, was executed by the state less than 10 hours after Governor Mike Parson and the United States Supreme Court denied him clemency. Dorsey was given a single-dose injection of the sedative pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre at 6:11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Dorsey had released a final statement earlier on Tuesday, expressing his profound guilt and shame. His last meal included two bacon double cheeseburgers, two orders of chicken strips, two large orders of fries, and a pizza with sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, and extra cheese.
Dorsey was convicted of shooting his cousin Sarah and her husband Benjamin Bonnie in their Missouri home in 2006. Despite a petition supported by 72 current and former corrections officers who testified to his reformation, Governor Parson denied clemency. The Supreme Court also refused to stop the execution, rejecting two separate appeals. One appeal highlighted Dorsey's record of good behavior in prison, arguing he should be spared because he had been rehabilitated. The other appeal claimed his trial lawyers had a conflict of interest, as they were paid a flat fee with no incentive to invest time in his case. This led Dorsey to plead guilty without any agreement from prosecutors regarding the death penalty.
Dorsey's attorney, Kirk Henderson, stated that Dorsey had spent the past 18 years trying to make up for his crime and that executing him served no legitimate purpose.
Dorsey's execution marks the first in Missouri this year, following four executions in 2023. Another man, David Hosier, is scheduled for execution on June 11 for the killing of a woman in Jefferson City in 2009.
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