Missouri set to continue executions in 2024 with date set for man convicted in double murder

A man’s execution date has been set for April 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court announced on Wednesday.

It is the only execution scheduled next year in Missouri so far.

Brian J. Dorsey, 51, was charged in the 2006 killing of his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben Bonnie. Their bodies were found in their home in New Bloomfield, in central Missouri, the Associated Press reported at the time.

According to a motion, the couple had taken Dorsey into their home to help him escape drug dealers who were seeking to collect a debt he owed them.

In 2008, he was convicted on the two counts of first-degree murder in Boone County.

His appeals, including with the U.S. Supreme Court, have been denied.

In February, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey requested Dorsey’s execution date be set. The warrant of execution goes into effect at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has not granted clemency in a death penalty case.

Missouri was one of five states that carried out executions in 2023, according to a report published earlier this month by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama also executed prisoners this year. A total of 24 people died by lethal injection this year in the U.S.

According to a Gallup poll released in November, a majority of people now believe the death penalty is applied unfairly. Fifty-three percent said they still support the death penalty, down from 60% a decade ago.

Missouri executed four people this year, including two men who were granted temporary stays.

No new capital sentences were handed down this year in the state.

Twelve people remain on death row in Missouri, including Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, who says DNA evidence proves he was wrongfully convicted. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has requested an execution date be set in that case. Williams filed a lawsuit in August contending that going forward with his execution would violate his constitutional rights to due process.

Forty states have abolished the death penalty, paused executions or have not executed anyone in the past 10 years.

This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 11:23 AM.

Katie Moore

The Kansas City Star

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Katie Moore was an enterprise and accountability reporter for The Star. She covered justice issues, including policing, prison conditions and the death penalty. She is a University of Kansas graduate and began her career as a reporter in 2015 in her hometown of Topeka, Kansas.