- Feb 5, 2002
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The Catholic bishops of Missouri are urging the faithful to contact Republican Gov. Mike Parson to stay the execution of convicted murderer Brian Dorsey, who is controversially scheduled to die Tuesday, April 9, in the state’s first execution of 2024.
Dorsey, 52, was arrested in 2006 and later convicted of shooting and killing his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben. Dorsey’s lawyers argued that he was in a drug-induced psychosis, as he was suffering from chronic depression and addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the killings.
The Missouri Catholic Conference, which advocates for public policy on behalf of the state’s five bishops, said that in addition to the fact that Dorsey “endured substantial mental and physical childhood trauma,” he also has claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, as his attorneys at the time — who were being paid a small flat fee to defend him — entered him into a plea deal without contesting the possibility of capital punishment.
Dorsey’s death sentence has garnered scrutiny. During more than 17 years spent on death row, Dorsey complied zero infractions and served as a barber for other prisoners and for wardens, staff, and chaplains — trusted using potentially deadly instruments. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group of 72 current and former Missouri correctional officers submitted and signed a letter vouching for his character and asking Parson to grant Dorsey clemency and commute his death sentence
Continued below.
Dorsey, 52, was arrested in 2006 and later convicted of shooting and killing his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben. Dorsey’s lawyers argued that he was in a drug-induced psychosis, as he was suffering from chronic depression and addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the killings.
The Missouri Catholic Conference, which advocates for public policy on behalf of the state’s five bishops, said that in addition to the fact that Dorsey “endured substantial mental and physical childhood trauma,” he also has claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, as his attorneys at the time — who were being paid a small flat fee to defend him — entered him into a plea deal without contesting the possibility of capital punishment.
Dorsey’s death sentence has garnered scrutiny. During more than 17 years spent on death row, Dorsey complied zero infractions and served as a barber for other prisoners and for wardens, staff, and chaplains — trusted using potentially deadly instruments. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group of 72 current and former Missouri correctional officers submitted and signed a letter vouching for his character and asking Parson to grant Dorsey clemency and commute his death sentence
Continued below.
Missouri bishops plead for death row inmate on eve of execution
The Catholic bishops of Missouri are urging the faithful to contact Gov. Mike Parson to stay the execution of convicted murderer Brian Dorsey.
www.catholicnewsagency.com