70 correctional officers rushed to convicted killer Brian Dorsey’s defense before his execution: ‘model prisoner’
Nearly six dozen correctional officers tried to get convicted killer Brian Dorsey saved from being executed — praising his “exemplary behavior” as a “model prisoner.”
Dorsey was killed with a single-dose injection of the sedative phentobarbital at the Missouri state prison in Bonne Terre late Tuesday as punishment for the 2006 murder of Sarah and Ben Bonnie, his cousin and her husband.
The 52-year-old’s appeal for clemency was turned down by Gov. Mike Parson a day earlier — despite 70 members of the correctional staff writing to vouch of Dorsey’s “exemplary behavior
while incarcerated.”
They argued it was pointless to execute such a “model prisoner.”
The prison staffers also claimed that Dorsey was in “one of the most trusted positions in the institution,” and former warden Troy Steele stated that his behavior had been “extraordinary,” court documents show.
“We are part of the law enforcement community who believe in law and order … Generally, we believe in the use of capital punishment. But we are in agreement that the death penalty is not the appropriate punishment for Brian Dorsey,” the letter read, according to Dorsey’s lawyers.
“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,” they wrote.
Dorsey’s lawyers also argued that he received an inadequate criminal defense from public defenders and claimed acting director of the Department of Corrections Trevor Foley lacked the authority to oversee executions because he had not been confirmed by Jefferson City lawmakers.
Dorsey had been denied two previous appeals by the US Supreme Court. His final words apologized for shooting his relatives dead and sexually assaulting his cousin’s lifeless body after pleading with them to borrow money to pay a drug debt.
“I am truly deeply overwhelmingly sorry. Words cannot hold the just weight of my guilt and shame,” a handwritten final statement from the killer said.
Parson, a Republican, claimed the capital punishment was justified.
“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,” the governor said.
The double murder had left the couple’s 4-year-old daughter an orphan. She was found by her grandparents watching TV at the family home, telling them that her mother “won’t wake up.”
