Mr. Dorsey's lawyers and supporters had argued that the death penalty was wrong because Mr. Dorsey was rehabilitated.
“Governor. Parson has chosen to ignore the wealth of information in front of him that shows Brian Dorsey is a person deserving of mercy,” Dorsey's attorney Megan Crane wrote.
- Dorsey is being held at the Potosi Correctional Center in Washington County, Missouri, and is scheduled to be executed at 6pm local time on Tuesday.
- His death warrant was issued on December 13, 2023, for the shooting deaths of two family members with a shotgun.
- He has given “unprecedented” written support to more than 70 prison officials, including his former warden, that he should not be executed, his lawyers wrote. They added that he has a clean disciplinary record during his 17 years on death row.
- The family argued both for and against Dorsey's clemency. In a statement sent to local television station KOMU, Sarah Bonney's family argued Dorsey should not be given a reprieve because his daughter never knew her parents. Meanwhile, a video provided by Dorsey's attorney shows his cousins saying they want his life spared.
Two days before Christmas 2006, Dorsey's cousin Sarah Bonney and her husband Ben Bonney reported that two drug dealers had arrested Dorsey, according to a news release from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. They allegedly took Dorsey in after blackmailing him into collecting the drug debt.
Dorsey couldn't sleep and was in a “psychotic state” His lawyer said he remained on the crack bender for 72 hours. That night, prosecutors said, Dorsey shot the couple with his own shotgun while they were in bed. They left behind a 4-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors said Dorsey had a cell phone, jewelry, two firearms, A copy of “Bambi II” owned by the victim's daughter. He took the items to pay off a drug debt, according to court records filed by prosecutors.
When he learned police were looking for him, he turned himself in and cooperated, his attorney wrote.
Dorsey's current attorney argued that his client received ineffective advice at trial.
The current attorneys added that the trial attorneys did not conduct any investigation and that the trial attorneys “obtained nothing from Mr. Dorsey in exchange for a guilty plea.”
They argue that the original attorney failed to disclose that Dorsey was suffering from drug-induced psychosis. Current lawyers argue that part of the reason may be financial. Trial attorneys received a flat fee of $12,000, but Mary Fox, director of the Missouri Public Defender System, said the practice hindered a thorough defense.
Fox sent a letter to the court arguing that flat fees are at issue in the case because they are a recognized violation of American Bar Association guidelines and the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct.
“The Missouri Public Defender recognizes the prevalence of unconstitutional and ineffective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases,” she wrote.
Three years before the incident, the American Bar Association stated that “death penalty attorneys should be compensated fully and commensurate with the quality of legal representation they provide, reflecting the extraordinary responsibility inherent in death penalty representation.'' I am,” he wrote.
Dorsey was diagnosed with major depressive disorder when he was young, and medication hasn't helped, his lawyers said.he then started He self-brokered with crack cocaine as a teenager, According to his lawyer.
An open question in the case is whether the Eighth Amendment protects rehabilitated people from the death penalty, his lawyers argued in the latest attempt to halt the execution.
“Mr. Dorsey has an unparalleled track record on Missouri's death row, and this lawsuit provides the best vehicle for the court to address this issue,” the attorneys wrote.
- Dorsey has been called a model inmate, living in an honors dormitory and working as the prison's barber. Dorsey's attorney wrote that he gave the guard a haircut.
- Troy Steele, a former warden at the Potosi Correctional Center, wrote of Dorsey: “His conduct has been exceptional and there have been no reports of any type of misconduct.” He wrote that Dorsey has “the highest level of respect and trust” from prison officials.
- A group of more than 70 correctional officers at the prison wrote in a letter to Missouri Governor Parson that while they normally support the death penalty, they “agree that the death penalty is not the appropriate punishment for Brian. “There is,” he said. Dorsey,” the court filing states. They said they know he was convicted of murder, but that's not the Brian “they know.”
- “Brian has worked every day while in prison to atone for his crimes. Dozens of correctional officers have testified to his remorse, reformation, and dedication to service,” said his attorney Crane. said. “Brian's unprecedented support and irrefutable proof of his salvation are precisely the circumstances for which the pardon was intended. Allowing Brian's execution despite this truth is devastating.”
Kim Bellware contributed to this report.