Missouri to carry out execution of Brian Dorsey after Gov. Mike Parson denies clemency
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson denied a last-minute effort to stay the execution of Brian Dorsey, a man convicted of killing his cousin and her husband in 2006.
Parson said the state plans to carry out the execution of Dorsey on Tuesday, April 9.
"The pain Dorsey brought to others can never be rectified, but carrying out Dorsey’s sentence according to Missouri law and the Court’s order will deliver justice and provide closure," Parson said in a press release.
Dorsey's attorneys had requested clemency arguing that he'd been rehabilitated and that more than 70 former and current corrections officers were in support of commuting Dorsey's death sentence.
Megan Crane, an attorney for Dorsey did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
Troy Steele, the former warden at Potosi Correctional Center, where Dorsey was housed said his record was "extraordinary," according to the filing.
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Brian Dorsey charged in 2006 double-murder
Dorsey was convicted of murdering his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband, Ben Bonnie, on December 23, 2006. The couple had taken Dorsey in because drug dealers were trying to collect money he owed them, according to court filings.
Prosecutors said Dorsey shot the couple with their own shotgun, while their 4-year-old daughter was in the home. Dorsey also stole personal property to repay drug debts, the filings said.
"Brian Dorsey punished his loving family for helping him in a time of need. His cousins invited him into their home where he was surrounded by family and friends, then gave him a place to stay. Dorsey repaid them with cruelty, inhumane violence, and murder," Parson said in the press release.
Dorsey's attorneys in his request for clemency argued that he's remorseful and has been rehabilitated after nearly two decades behind bars.
"The correctional staff—who know Mr. Dorsey best at this point, and who know what real rehabilitation and genuine remorse look like because of their firsthand experience with and broad basis for comparison with other prisoners—consistently attest to Mr. Dorsey’s wholesale rehabilitation, his genuine remorse, and ultimately his redemption," the clemency request said.
In 2008, he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He later filed several appeals which have all been denied, arguing an insufficient defense due to the state's flat-fee payment. His lawyers also argued that he was suffering from “drug-induced psychosis and alcohol-induced blackout,” meaning he couldn't "deliberate" as required for a first-degree murder conviction, several outlets reported.
“His deep shame and remorse has shaped him and apparently shaped the way he’s lived every day of his life since,” Crane, one of his attorneys, told CNN.