The state of Missouri on Tuesday executed Brian Dorsey for the 2006 murders of his cousin, Sarah Bonnie, and her husband, Benjamin Bonnie, after an effort to have his life spared failed in recent days.

Dorsey’s time of death was recorded as 6:11 p.m, the Missouri Department of Corrections said in a news release. The method of execution was lethal injection, Karen Pojmann, a spokesperson for the department, said at a news conference, adding it “went smoothly, no problems.”

The execution of Dorsey, 52, occurred hours after the US Supreme Court declined to intervene and about a day after Missouri’s Republican governor denied clemency, rejecting the inmate’s petition – backed by more than 70 correctional officers and others – for a commutation of his sentence to life in prison.

Dorsey and his attorneys cited his remorse, his rehabilitation while behind bars and his representation at trial by attorneys who allegedly had a “financial conflict of interest” as reasons he should not be put to death. But those arguments were insufficient to convince Gov. Mike Parson, who said in a statement carrying out Dorsey’s sentence “would deliver justice and provide closure.”

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    This is what happens when you give the state the power of life and death over its citizens. Even the people who make up the low levels of power in the state have no actual voice when it comes to the state committing legally-sanctioned murder.

    • seSvxR3ull7LHaEZFIjM@feddit.de
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      7 months ago

      The actual argument on the death penalty - no matter if morally right or wrong, guilty or innocient, I sure as hell don’t want the state to decide!

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        And you believe you can prove every single time beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused child rapist you are putting to death is not innocent of the crime? How would you be able to do so?

        • sepulcher@lemmy.ca
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          7 months ago

          Are you trying to argue that it’s okay to imprison innocent people but it’s not okay to execute them? Because even without the death penalty, these innocent people you’re referring to would just spend life in prison. I guess that’s acceptable to you?

          What if they die in prison? Even if their case gets overturned, they could’ve spent decades in prison. Is that okay to you?

          • ripcord@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Nothing about what they said implies that this would be ok.

            Problem with homicide is that it’s final. Someone falsely imprisoned has the chance of being let go. Anyone who is killed immediately loses that option.

            • sepulcher@lemmy.ca
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              7 months ago

              Nothing about what they said implies that this would be ok.

              False. He said we shouldn’t execute them because they may be innocent. That implies imprisoning them is okay, unless he thinks we shouldn’t imprison child rapists because they may be innocent.

              Problem with homicide is that it’s final. Someone falsely imprisoned has the chance of being let go. Anyone who is killed immediately loses that option.

              Okay. So it’s alright to punish innocent people as long as it’s not permanent?

              Unless of course they die in prison, in which case…?

              And also, losing decades of your life in prison is permanent. You don’t get that time back.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                They generally do so when they’re older than the people who get executed for the same accused crime. Meaning there’s a chance they’ll have a life outside of prison if they’re innocent.

                Again, you can’t unkill someone. You can, however, not intentionally kill them.

                • sepulcher@lemmy.ca
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                  7 months ago

                  Meaning there’s a chance they’ll have a life outside of prison if they’re innocent.

                  Yeah, but what about those who don’t get that chance?

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Really? Then why is Anders Breivik still alive?

        Somehow, Norway has not murdered him despite the fact that he murdered dozens of children.