In a unanimous decision, the Missouri Supreme Court has rejected a plea to halt the execution of Brian Dorsey, who is set to be executed by lethal injection next month for the murder of his cousin and her husband 18 years ago. Judge W. Brent Powell stated that Dorsey failed to demonstrate his innocence of the first-degree murder charges despite previously pleading guilty and not denying his involvement in the crimes. Powell dismissed Dorsey's claim of being unable to deliberate at the time of the murders due to drug-induced psychosis. The court also upheld its previous decision denying Dorsey's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, preventing him from raising the issue again.
Dorsey's attempt to argue that he lacked the mental capacity to commit the crimes, therefore questioning the premeditation required for a first-degree murder conviction, was also dismissed by the court.
Case of Brian Dorsey
In a recent decision, it was noted that Dorsey claimed to have been sleep-deprived, intoxicated, suicidal, and struggling with various mental health issues at the time of the murders. However, the court ruled that his evidence was insufficient to prove his innocence.
His attorney, Megan Crane, expressed disappointment with the Missouri Supreme Court's decision and announced plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Crane highlighted concerns about the legal representation Dorsey received and the impending execution scheduled for April 9.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, Dorsey is set to be executed at 6 p.m. on April 9 at the state prison in Bonne Terre. If carried out, it would mark Missouri's first execution in 2024 following four executions in the previous year. Another inmate, David Hosier, is also facing execution on June 11 for a separate crime.
Dorsey, who turns 52 on Thursday, was convicted of fatally shooting Sarah and Ben Bonnie on Dec. 23, 2006, at their home near New Bloomfield. Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Dorsey had called Sarah Bonnie seeking to borrow money to pay two drug dealers who were at his apartment.
Sarah Bonnie's parents found the bodies the next day. The couple's 4-year-old daughter was unhurt.
Despite the allegations of "drug-induced psychosis" outlined in Dorsey's appeal, Powell wrote that attorneys for the state cited "significant evidence" of premeditation involved in the murders.
Dorsey pleaded guilty in 2008, but he later claimed he should have instead been sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Missouri Supreme Court first upheld the death sentence in 2010 and again in 2014.
In January, a group of 60 officers and other staff at the Missouri Department of Corrections sent a letter to Governor Mike Parson, on Dorsey's behalf, asking the governor to grant him clemency, CBS affiliate KRCG
