Missouri’s governor has denied clemency to a man accused of killing his cousin and her husband nearly two decades ago, a day before the inmate was scheduled to be executed.
An attorney for the suspect, Brian Dorsey, 52, called Monday’s decision by Gov. Mike Parson “devastating,” after a petition obtained statements from 72 current and former corrections officials who vouched that his client was reformed.
The petition also received support from a former Missouri Supreme Court justice and others, as two appeals are still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
One focuses on Dorsey’s record of good behavior during his 17 years of incarceration, as he is still scheduled to die by injection Tuesday night at Bonne Terre state prison.
The other says his life should be spared because his trial attorneys had a conflict of interest, because a pair of public defenders were paid a flat fee of $12,000 that he says gave them no incentive to invest. time in your case.
Brian Dorsey, 52, shot Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie, 28, in their Missouri home on Dec. 23, 2006. He has since spent 17 years in prison and is scheduled to be executed Tuesday.
Gov. Mike Parson on Monday rejected the clemency request that would have saved Dorsey’s life. The request included correspondence from current and former corrections officials, as well as a retired state Supreme Court justice, stating that the killer was reformed.
“The Brian I’ve known for years couldn’t hurt anyone,” one officer wrote as part of the petition to save Dorsey. “The Brian I know does not deserve to be executed.”
In a letter to Parson as part of the clemency petition, former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff discussed how he was in court when it dismissed an appeal of his 2009 death sentence.
Now, he said, that decision was wrong.
“Missouri public defenders now do not use the flat fee defense fee in recognition of the professional standard that such an arrangement gives the attorney an inherent financial conflict of interest,” Wolff wrote of the murder of Sarah and Ben Bonnie on December 23, 2006.
Dozens more corrections officials also vouched for his rehabilitation while behind bars, while Dorsey’s lawyers argued that he was suffering from drug-induced psychosis at the time of the crime, adding that during his time in prison, he became clean.
Parson, a 68-year-old Republican, was apparently not swayed by these arguments, sticking to the theme of never granting a clemency request even once during his four years as governor.
His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as Dorsey’s fate, pending any last-minute intervention from the land’s highest court, appears all but sealed.
His lawyers have also successfully appealed to be provided with pain relief if his execution goes ahead, on the grounds that his obesity and diabetes may mean he might need a particularly excruciating procedure to find a vein to inject the fatal dose.
Dorsey shot Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie to death in their bed while he was with the couple, before stealing their belongings and attempting to sell them.
Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff (pictured) and 72 current and former corrections officials fought to save Dorsey’s life, claiming he had been born again behind bars. Wolff was the one who handed down the death sentence in 2009, but recently said it was a mistake.
In addition to being obese and diabetic, Dorsey is also a reformed intravenous drug user, his attorneys have noted, another factor that could make it more difficult to find a vein to inject into, they say.
The Missouri Department of Corrections is taking steps to reduce Dorsey’s risk of suffering, after settling a federal lawsuit that said Dorsey could face tremendous pain if he were required to undergo what’s known as a reduction procedure to find a vein. appropriate.
A reduction procedure involves an incision that can be several centimeters wide and then using forceps to separate the tissue and reach a vein.
Parson, in turn, said in a press release on Monday: ‘Brian Dorsey punished his loving family for helping him in his time of need.
‘His cousins ​​invited him to their home, where he was surrounded by family and friends, and then gave him a place to stay.
‘Dorsey repaid them with cruelty, inhuman violence and murder.
“The pain Dorsey caused others can never be rectified, but carrying out Dorsey’s sentence in accordance with Missouri law and the Court’s order will do justice and provide closure.”
Meanwhile, on the open recommendation of his lawyers, Dorsey pleaded guilty despite having no agreement with prosecutors that he would be spared the death penalty, a deal he probably wishes he had made since his execution is hours away.
Parson, seemingly undaunted, said of his decision in a press release: “Brian Dorsey punished his loving family for helping him in a time of need.” ‘His cousins ​​invited him to his house, where he was surrounded by family and friends, and then they gave him a place to stay. Dorsey repaid them with cruelty, inhuman violence and murder.
“The pain Dorsey caused others can never be rectified, but carrying out Dorsey’s sentence in accordance with Missouri law and the Court’s order will do justice and provide closure,” the politician concluded, likely sealing the fate of the scam.
If approved, Dorsey would be the first person executed in Missouri this year after four executions in 2023. His appeals, as of early Tuesday morning, are still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dorsey, a former Jefferson City resident, was convicted of killing his cousin, Sarah Bonnie, and her husband, Benjamin, in their home near New Bloomfield on Dec. 23, 2006.
Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey had called Sarah asking to borrow money to pay off two drug dealers who were at her apartment.
The couple went to his house to help him and took him back to their house, where some other family members came to eat and drink.
After going to bed that night, Dorsey grabbed a shotgun from the garage and killed them both, shooting Sarah in the jaw and Benjamin in the side of the head, before sexually assaulting Sarah’s body, prosecutors said.
He was never accused of sexual assault.
Sarah’s parents found their bodies the next day. The couple’s 4-year-old daughter was sitting in the living room watching television, unharmed.
After the murders, Dorsey stole items from the house, including Sarah’s social security card, her car, and Jade’s copy of Bambi 2, and fled, driving around trying to sell the products.
On Christmas Day, he called his mother and told her he was trying to commit suicide, before she convinced him to turn himself in.
He pleaded guilty in March 2008 and was sentenced to death for each murder. The sentence has since been appealed and upheld.
Dorsey’s attorneys had also asked the Missouri Supreme Court to stay the execution, arguing that the acting director of the Department of Corrections has not been confirmed by the state Senate and is therefore not qualified to oversee an execution.
The court denied that request on Friday.