CNN
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The state of Missouri on Tuesday accused Brian Dorsey of killing his cousin Sarah Bonney and her husband Benjamin Bonney in 2006, saying efforts to save his life had failed in recent days. Dorsey was executed.
Dorsey's time of death was recorded as 6:11 p.m., the Missouri Department of Corrections said in a news release. Ministry spokeswoman Karen Pojman told a news conference that the method of execution was lethal injection, adding: “It went smoothly without any problems.”
The execution of Dorsey, 52, came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene, and Missouri's Republican governor followed an inmate's petition to commute his sentence, backed by more than 70 correctional officers and others. ) was carried out approximately one day after the refusal. life in prison.
Dorsey and his lawyers cited his remorse, his rehabilitation while incarcerated, and his defense at trial, where his lawyers allegedly had a “financial conflict of interest” as reasons why he should not receive the death penalty. But those arguments were not enough to convince Gov. Mike Parson, who said in a statement that sentencing Dorsey would “bring justice and closure.”
In his final written statement before his execution, Dorsey thanked his supporters for advocating on his behalf and apologized to the loved ones of his victims.
“I am truly, deeply, and overwhelmingly sorry to Sarah's entire family and loved ones, and to all of Ben's surviving family and loved ones,” according to a statement provided by his attorney to CNN. , Dorsey said, “Words cannot express the weight of my guilt and shame.'' “I still love you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I'm sorry I hurt them and you.”
“To my family, friends and everyone who tried to stop this, I love you. I appreciate you,” he said. “Lord I have peace in my heart and I am grateful because of you. To everyone on all sides of this sentence, I bear no ill will or anger, just acceptance and understanding. is.”
Dorsey's petition also cites support from some of the victims' relatives, whom his attorney said are related to the victims, but other members of the victims' families also support the execution. , told CNN in a statement that Dorsey committed the “ultimate betrayal” when he killed Sarah Bonney. Her cousin and her husband Benjamin left her then 4-year-old daughter Jade at her home, with her parents' bodies locked in her bedroom.
A statement from Sarah Bonney's family said: “Not only did Jade lose her parents, we lost a daughter and a son, a sister and brother, an aunt and uncle, and a great-aunt and great-uncle to many others. ” is written in part.
“They were deeply loved by all who knew them,” it reads. “After all of the years of pain and suffering, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Brian will receive the justice that Sarah and Ben have received for so many years.”
The governor said in a statement Monday that “nothing can ever rectify the pain that Mr. Dorsey caused to others” and that his execution would proceed in accordance with state law and the orders of the Missouri Supreme Court.
“Brian Dorsey punished his beloved family for helping him in his time of need,” Parson said. “His cousins invited him to their home, where they gave him a place to stay, surrounded by his family and friends. Dorsey retaliated against them with cruelty, inhumane violence, and murder.”
The murder occurred on the night of Dec. 23, 2006, according to the case history contained in a Missouri Supreme Court decision last month. Hours earlier, Dorsey had called Sarah for help. Dorsey said he had two drug dealers in his apartment and needed money to pay them.
The couple went to Dorsey's apartment and the drug dealers left. They then took Dorsey back to her home, where she spent the night drinking and playing pool with her family and friends, her ruling said.
Later that night, Dorsey entered their room and shot them at close range with a shotgun, according to the verdict. Court records say Dorsey raped Sarah's body. Dorsey's lawyers argued that this remained a suspicion. He was never charged with or pleaded guilty to rape or sexual assault.
Dorsey was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and pleaded guilty in March 2008. He was sentenced to death for each murder, and the conviction and death sentence were upheld on appeal, according to court records.
The killing was deeply traumatic for Sarah Bonney's family, the statement said, adding that her body was discovered by her parents. Over the next few years, the family did everything they could to keep Sarah and Ben's memory alive, taking her daughter to the cemetery and releasing balloons every year.
“We remember all the things she missed in life without her parents: the first day of school, the school party, the school dance, the first date, the sweet sixteen, the first boyfriend, and high school graduation. ceremony,” their statement reads. “All these were taken away from her by her family who declared that they loved her.”
However, Jenny Gerhauser, a cousin of the inmate and Sarah Bonney, said that while she had held out hope that Dorsey would survive, “the ultimate failure was to save her cousin Brian Dorsey's life.” I am devastated and disappointed,” he said in a statement. early Tuesday afternoon.
“Brian will be released tonight,” she said. “His punishment ends, and for all of us who have only committed the sin of loving him, our punishment begins.”
The petition argued that the inmate's remorse and defense at trial warranted mercy.
Dorsey's lawyer said he deeply regretted the murder. His clemency petition claims the killings occurred while Dorsey was suffering from “drug-induced psychosis and alcohol-induced blackouts” after years of drug abuse to self-medicate chronic depression. did.
Mr. Dorsey and his lawyers pointed to his impeccable disciplinary record and work as a barber as evidence of his redemption. For 11 years, Mr. Dorsey cut the hair of Potosi Correctional Center employees, including chaplains, wardens and correctional officers, some of whom wrote letters to the governor supporting his pursuit of clemency.
“In my opinion, if it weren't for the drugs, none of this would have happened,” wrote one person, whose name was redacted in the privacy petition along with others. “The Mr. Dorsey that I know must have been insane at the time these murders occurred.”
In addition, Mr. Dorsey's lawyers argue that his sentence was unfair because of the trial attorney's fee arrangements. Both were given a flat fee of $12,000, which equated to him only a few dollars an hour for the work required on a major case.
Mr. Dorsey's lawyers said this created a “financial conflict of interest” that would hamper his case efforts, and that his trial lawyers were reluctant to convict Mr. Dorsey without a guarantee of a life sentence or a thorough investigation. He claims he has admitted it. Had he chosen the latter, his current lawyers argue, Dorsey might have been found to lack the deliberative capacity needed for a first-degree murder charge.
Mr. Dorsey's trial lawyer previously testified that paying the flat fee did not affect the handling of the case. One declined to comment and the other did not respond when contacted by CNN last week.
CNN's John Fritze contributed to this report.