Missouri’s governor has denied clemency for a man accused of killing his cousin and her husband nearly two decades ago – a day before the inmate’s scheduled execution.
An attorney for the suspect — 52-year-old Brian Dorsey — called Gov. Mike Parson’s decision “devastating” Monday after a petition gathered statements from 72 current and former corrections officers vouching that his client had been reformed.
The petition also received support from a former Missouri Supreme Court justice and others as two appeals remain pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
One focuses on Dorsey’s record of good behavior during his 17 years in captivity, as he is still scheduled to die by injection Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre.
The other says his life should be spared because his trial attorneys had a conflict of interest in that a pair of public defenders were paid a lump sum of $12,000, which he said gave them no incentive to invest time in his case.
Brian Dorsey, 52, shot Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie, 28, at their Missouri home on December 23, 2006. He has since served 17 years in prison and will be executed on Tuesday.
Governor Mike Parson on Monday rejected 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 Supreme Court justice — claiming the killer had reformed.
“The Brian I’ve known for years can’t hurt anyone,” an officer wrote as part of the petition to save Dorsey. “The Brian I know doesn’t deserve to be executed.”
In a letter to Parson as part of the clemency petition, former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff noted how he was in the court when it denied an appeal of his death sentence in 2009.
Now, he said, that decision was wrong.
“Missouri Public Defenders are now opting out of the fixed defense fee, in recognition of the professional standard that such an arrangement presents the attorney with an inherent financial conflict of interest,” Wolff wrote about the Dec. 23, 2006, murders of Sarah and Ben Bonnie.
Dozens of other correctional officers also vouched for his rehabilitation while behind bars, as Dorsey’s attorneys claimed he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis at the time of the crime, adding that he has been clean during his time in prison become.
Parson, a 68-year-old Republican, was seemingly unswayed by these arguments, sticking to the theme that he had never once granted a clemency request during his four years as governor.
His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as Dorsey’s fate — pending a last-minute intervention from the nation’s highest court — appears all but sealed.
His lawyers have also successfully appealed for pain relief if his execution goes ahead, because his obesity and diabetes could mean he needs a particularly excruciating procedure to find a vein to inject the fatal dose.
Dorsey shot and killed Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie in their bed while they were staying with the couple, before stealing their belongings and trying to sell them
Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff (pictured) and 72 current and ex-corrections officers fought to save Dorsey’s life, claiming he was born again behind bars. Wolff was the one who handed down the death penalty in 2009, but recently said that was a mistake
In addition to being obese and diabetic, Dorsey is also a reformed intravenous drug user, his lawyers have noted — another factor that could make it harder to find a vein for injection, they say.
The Missouri Department of Corrections is therefore taking steps to reduce Dorsey’s risk of suffering, after settling a federal lawsuit that alleged Dorsey could face immense pain if he had to undergo a so-called cutdown procedure to get a find a suitable core.
A cutdown procedure involves an incision that may be several inches wide, and then using forceps to pull the tissue apart to access a vein.
Parson, for his part, said in a press release on Monday: ‘Brian Dorsey chastised his loving family for helping him in his time of need.
“His cousins invited him to their home, where he was surrounded by family and friends, and then gave him a place to stay.
“Dorsey has rewarded them with brutality, inhumane violence and murder.
“The pain Dorsey has caused others can never be remedied, but carrying out Dorsey’s sentence according to Missouri law and the Court’s order will bring justice and provide closure.”
Meanwhile, Dorsey, on the advice of his public defenders, pleaded guilty despite having no deal with prosecutors that would spare him the death penalty — a deal he would likely be eager to make as his execution is still hours away.
Parson, seemingly unwavering, said in a press release about his decision: “Brian Dorsey punished his loving family for helping him in a time of need. “His cousins invited him to their home, where he was surrounded by family and friends, and then gave him a place to stay. Dorsey paid them with cruelty, inhumane violence and murder’
“The pain Dorsey has caused others can never be remedied, but carrying out Dorsey’s sentence according to Missouri law and the Court’s order will bring justice and provide closure,” the politician concluded, likely resolving the scammer’s fate sealed.
If it goes through, Dorsey would be the first person in Missouri put to death this year after four executions in 2023. His appeal is still pending early Tuesday morning before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dorsey, formerly of Jefferson City, was convicted of killing his cousin, Sarah Bonnie, and her husband, Benjamin, at their home near New Bloomfield on December 23, 2006.
Prosecutors said Dorsey called Sarah earlier that day asking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.
The couple went to his house to help and took him back to their home where a few other family members dropped by for food and drinks.
After they went to bed that night, Dorsey took a shotgun from the garage and killed them both, shooting Sarah in the jaw and Benjamin in the side of the head before sexually assaulting Sarah’s body, prosecutors said.
He was never accused of sexual abuse.
Sarah’s parents found their bodies the next day. The couple’s four-year-old daughter was sitting unharmed in the living room watching TV.
After the murders, Dorsey stole items from around the house, including Sarah’s Social Security card, their car, and Jade’s copy of Bambi 2, and fled, driving around trying to sell the goods.
On Christmas Day, he called his mother and said he was trying to kill himself before she convinced him to turn himself in.
He pleaded guilty in March 2008 and was sentenced to death for each murder. The verdict has now been appealed and confirmed.
Dorsey’s attorneys had also asked the Missouri Supreme Court to stay the execution on the grounds that the acting director of the Department of Corrections has not been confirmed by the Senate and is therefore not qualified to oversee an execution.
The court rejected that request on Friday.