Missouri governor denies clemency for man scheduled for execution on Tuesday trends now
The governor of Missouri on has denied clemency for a man accused of killing his cousin and her husband nearly two decades ago - one day before the inmate's scheduled execution.
An attorney for the suspect - 52-year-old Brian Dorsey - called Governor Mike Parson's decision Monday 'devastating,' after a petition garnered statements from 72 current and ex corrections officers who vouched that he 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 US 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 the state prison in Bonne Terre.
The other says his life should be spared because his trial lawyers had a conflict of interest, due to a pair of public defenders being paid a $12,000 flat fee he claims provided them with no incentive to invest time in his case.
Brian Dorsey, 52, shot Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie, 28, in their Missouri home on December 23 2006. He has since spent 17 years in prison, and is scheduled to be executed Tuesday
Governor Mike Parson on Monday turned down the clemency request that would have saved Dorsey's life. The request included correspondence from current and former corrections officers - as well as a retired state supreme court justice - claiming the killer was reformed
'The Brian I have known for years could not 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 remarked how he was on the court when it turned aside an appeal of his death sentence in 2009.
Now, he said, that decision was wrong.
'Missouri Public Defenders now do not use the flat fee for defense in recognition of the professional standard that such an arrangement gives the attorney an inherent financial conflict of interest,' Wolff wrote of the killing of Sarah and Ben Bonnie on December 23, 2006.
Dozens more corrections officers also vouched for his rehabilitation while behind bars, as attorneys for Dorsey argued that he suffered from drug-induced psychosis at the time of the crime, adding that during his stint In prison, he's gotten clean.
Parson, a 68-year-old Republican, seemingly was not swayed these arguments, keeping with a theme of never granting a clemency request once during his four years as governor.
His office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, as Dorsey's fate - pending any last minute intervention from the country's highest court - looks all but sealed.
His attorneys have also successfully appealed for him to be given pain relief if his execution does go ahead, on the basis his obesity and diabetes may mean he may require a particularly excruciating procedure to find a vein to inject the fatal dose.
Dorsey shot Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie dead in their bed while staying with the couple, before stealing their belongings and attempting to sell them
Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff (pictured) and 72 current and ex corrections officers fought to save Dorsey's
