The US Supreme Court has declined to halt Missouri death row convict Brian Dorsey’s execution on Tuesday evening for the 2006 killings of his cousin and her husband.
The state’s Republican governor denied clemency this week in a significant blow to Dorsey, 52, who had petitioned for a commutation of his sentence to life in prison, citing his remorse, rehabilitation while behind bars, and his representation at trial by attorneys who allegedly had a “financial conflict of interest.”
Brian Dorsey is deeply remorseful for the murders, according to his legal representatives
Dorsey’s appeal also included support from several family members who, according to his counsel, are linked to the victims.
Dorsey’s mercy arguments were unsatisfactory to Gov. Mike Parson, who said in a statement that the state would carry out the inmate’s death sentence as determined by the Missouri Supreme Court. Dorsey’s execution warrant calls for Dorsey to be executed within a 24-hour window beginning at 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
“Brian Dorsey punished his loving family for helping him in a time of need,” Parson said.
“His cousins invited him into their home, where he was surrounded by family and friends, then gave him a place to stay. Dorsey repaid them with cruelty, inhumane violence, and murder.”
“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 will deliver justice and provide closure,” the governor said.
Dorsey is deeply remorseful for the murders, according to his legal representatives. Dorsey’s clemency petition stated that the killings took place when he was suffering from “drug-induced psychosis and alcohol-induced blackout” as a result of years of substance abuse aimed at self-medicating severe depression.
Dorsey and his attorneys cited his spotless disciplinary record and his work as a staff barber as proof of his atonement
Dorsey and his attorneys cited his spotless disciplinary record and his work as a staff barber as proof of his atonement. For 11 years, Dorsey has cut the hair of Potosi Correctional Center staff, including chaplains, wardens, and corrections officers, some of whom wrote to the governor in support of his clemency petition.
“If you ask me, if it were not for drugs, none of this would have happened,” wrote one whose name, like others, was redacted in the petition for privacy. “The Mr. Dorsey I know must have been out of his mind at the time of these murders.”
Dorsey’s lawyers also argue that his sentence was unjust because of the payment agreement for his trial attorneys. Both were paid a flat price of $12,000, which equates to a few dollars per hour if they were to complete the work required for a capital case.
Dorsey’s counsel claimed that this created a “financial conflict of interest,” which disincentivized work on his case, prompting trial lawyers to have him plead guilty without a guarantee of a life sentence or adequate investigation. If they had done the latter, his current attorneys argue, they would have discovered Dorsey was incapable of the deliberation required for a first-degree murder charge.