Inmate convicted of murders in 1979 and 1990 is Florida’s first executed in three and a half years

The state of Florida (USA) executed this Thursday donald dillbeck59, who had been convicted of two first-degree murders, the first committed with a firearm in 1979 when he was a minor and another with stabbings in 1990.

Dillbeck was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. local time (23:13 GMT) after receiving a lethal injection in the Florida State Prisonas reported by the state Department of Prisons.

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This is the first execution to be carried out in Florida in three and a half years and after exhausting all the appeals presented by the defense to have it suspended, including a last minute one filed before the US Supreme Court of Justice

It is also the first execution to be carried out in Florida since 2019 and the 100th since capital punishment was reinstated in this state in 1976.

Dillbeck was sentenced to death in 1994 for the murder of Faye Vanna 44-year-old woman who resisted the theft of her car in a garage in tallahasseethe capital of Florida, and which the then fugitive from justice stabbed.

Earlier, he had escaped from a prison farm where he was serving a life sentence for the shooting murder of the policeman. dwight lynn hall31 years old, committed in 1979, when he was only 15 years old.

Dillbeck lived out his last day in prison in “calm” and “followed his normal routine”, as described by prison officials.

The executed man had as his last meal at 9:45 local time a menu consisting of fried shrimp, mushrooms, onion rings, ice cream and a chocolate and walnut cake, national media reported.

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Dillbeck’s lawyer, who claimed that he had a neural disorder because his mother drank alcohol in large quantities when she was pregnant with him, had unsuccessfully appealed to the Florida Supreme Court and then to the US Supreme Court. execution was stayed.

The country’s highest court rejected the appeal on Wednesday.

Among the clemency petitions sent to the Florida governor, Republican Ron DeSantiswho had signed the execution order last January, there is one from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Florida in which they beg him to opt for life and qualify as inadmissible the death penalty.

The Catholic bishops of Florida have organized vigils and gatherings throughout the state to pray for “Dillbeck, his victim and their families and for our society that continues to impose violence in exchange for violence”.

According to data from Department of Corrections (Prisons) in Florida, there are currently about 300 inmates in the “death row”, as the place where those who are going to be executed remain.

The oldest prisoner is Ecuadorian nelson serrano80 years old, who was convicted of three murders that he still claims he did not commit and whose case is seen by human rights organizations as a judicial outrage.

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The Tampa Bay newspaper published a story about Dillbeck’s life in which he recounts that he had been in foster care since he was 4 years old and began using drugs at 13.

In addition, he recounted the hardships he went through when he was imprisoned with 15-year-old adults, from sexual abuse to violence, and stresses that in the 1994 trial several doctors testified who indicated that he showed signs of mental problems associated with schizophrenia.

Currently, for a judge to sentence a defendant to death in Florida, a unanimous vote of the jury is required, as established by the US Supreme Court, which considers sentencing by simple majority unconstitutional.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.