Missouri executes Brian Dorsey by lethal injection despite attempts to alter sentence

The state of Missouri carried out the execution of Brian Dorsey on Tuesday night, a 52-year-old man convicted in a double murder.

Dorsey was administered a lethal dose of pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m.

Executions are conducted at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, about an hour south of St. Louis.

Dorsey was found guilty in the 2006 killing of his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben Bonnie in central Missouri.

In his final statement, Dorsey apologized to the Bonnies’ family members and loved ones, saying he’s “truly deeply overwhelmingly sorry.”

“Words cannot hold the just weight of my guilt and shame,” he wrote. “I still love you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I am sorry I hurt them and you.”

An hour before his execution, members of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty occupied the corner of 39th Street and Troost Avenue in Kansas City speaking out against it. Similar protests took place across the state in Jefferson City, St. Louis, Columbia and Bonne Terre.

Holding a sign and waving to passing cars Tuesday, Sister Rose McLarney of St. James Catholic Church said apart from her moral objections to the law, it doesn’t work like proponents say.

“The death penalty does not give closure to families, that’s a false concept,” McLarney said.

Another protester, Bob Ronan, said he hoped their presence in a well-traveled area brought awareness to those passing by of what is happening in the justice system.

“We in Missouri, along with a few other states, insist on killing people,” Ronan said. “It’s wrong and it accomplishes nothing.”

The order to administer the pentobarbital was given at 6:01 p.m., according to corrections department spokeswoman Karen Pojmann.

Dorsey had six witnesses at the execution. A dozen people from the victims’ side also attended.

Eighty-five protesters gathered outside the prison in opposition of the execution, while 24 were there in support of it.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson denied Dorsey clemency on Monday. Over 150 people who signed onto the clemency application supported granting Dorsey life without parole, including more than 70 corrections employees, five jurors, three Republican state representatives and a former Missouri Supreme Court judge who in 2009 upheld Dorsey’s death sentence.

Parson said in a statement that “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 delivered justice and provided closure.”

Kirk Henderson, an attorney for Dorsey, said in a statement, “Executing Brian Dorsey is a pointless cruelty, an exercise of the State’s power that serves no legitimate penological purpose.”

In his final statement, Dorsey also said he loved and was grateful for his “family, friends and all of those that tried to prevent this.”

“I have peace in my heart, in large part because of you, and I thank you,” he said in his final statement. “To all those on all sides of this sentence, I carry no ill will or anger, only acceptance and understanding.”

Appeals filed by Dorsey’s legal team failed. They had argued that several guidelines in the state’s lethal injection protocol were unconstitutional; that he should not have been charged with first-degree murder because he was in a drug-induced state when he killed the Bonnies; and that the Missouri Department of Corrections’ acting director was unqualified to oversee an execution.

Attorneys also said Dorsey’s original trial lawyers were paid on a flat fee basis, which disincentivized them from working on the case. They did not do an investigation, presented no expert witness testimony and accepted a plea deal while the death penalty remained on the table. That payment structure is no longer used by the Missouri State Public Defender’s system.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied two petitions earlier Tuesday.

According to the Department of Corrections, Dorsey’s final meal was served at 11 a.m. It included two bacon double cheeseburgers, two orders of chicken strips, two large orders of fries, and a pizza with sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms and extra cheese.

Eleven men remain on death row in Missouri. They include David Hosier, whose execution is scheduled for June, and Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, whose innocence claims are being litigated.

Missouri is one of five states to carry out capital punishment this year. Alabama, Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma have also had executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 6:29 PM.

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.