Florida Executes Man Used As ‘Political Pawn’ By Ron DeSantis
Jessica Schulberg
Thu, February 23, 2023 \
Florida on Thursday executed 59-year-old Donald Dillbeck, who was sentenced to death 32 years ago by a non-unanimous jury under a death penalty statute that has since been found unconstitutional.
Dillbeck, who was killed as punishment for fatally stabbing a woman named Faye Vann, was the first person executed in Florida since 2019.
The timing of his execution appears to be part of a push by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to bring back death sentences by non-unanimous juries. DeSantis, who is expected to run for president, signed Dillbeck’s death warrant last month on the same day that he floated changing state law to allow non-unanimous juries to impose death sentences. “Maybe eight out of 12 have to agree or something,” DeSantis suggested at a Florida Sheriffs Association conference, just before ordering the execution of a man with that exact jury split.
“I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up,” Dillbeck reportedlysaid just before his death. “But I know Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. He’s taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. He’s put his foot on our necks. Ron DeSantis and other people like him can s—k our d—s.”
In a written statement, Vann’s children, Tony and Laura Vann, thanked DeSantis for carrying out the execution.“We were robbed of years of memories with her, and it has been very painful ever since. However, the execution has given us some closure,” they wrote.
Shortly after DeSantis’ jury suggestion, Republican lawmakers filed a set of bills that would replace the unanimous jury requirement with an 8-4 threshold and allow a judge to overrule a jury to impose a death sentence.
“I’m not minimizing what [Dillbeck] did to people,” Florida capital defender Allison Miller told the Tallahassee Democrat, “but he is most definitely a political pawn.”
DeSantis has cited the outcome of the trial for Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people in a 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as a reason to bring back non-unanimous jury verdicts. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison without parole after jurors split 9-3 over the death penalty. Not all of the victims of the Parkland shooting wanted Cruz to be sentenced to death.
There is currently no state in the country where a jury can legally impose a death sentence with an 8-4 vote, according to Robert Dunham, the former executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Alabama is the only state that currently allows non-unanimous juries to sentence people to death — and it requires 10 votes in favor of death. Missouri and Indiana allow a judge to impose the death penalty in cases where the jury is divided.
Like most people sentenced to death, Dillbeck endured extreme abuse as a child. His birth mother drank 18-24 beers per day throughout her pregnancy, resulting in “a catastrophic effect on Mr. Dillbeck’s intellectual and adaptive functioning,” his lawyers wrote in a petition requesting that the Supreme Court review his case. “That Mr. Dillbeck suffers from Neurobehavioral Disorder associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE) is thoroughly medically documented, unrebutted, and factually beyond dispute,” the lawyers continued.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that executing people with intellectual disabilities violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In his petition, Dillbeck’s lawyer argued that ND-PAE is “functionally similar” and “identical in both etiology and symptomatology” to intellectual disabilities and should exclude him from execution.
Dillbeck was put in foster care when he was 4 years old and began using drugs by the age of 13, the Tampa Bay Times reported. When he was 15, he was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting Lee County sheriff’s deputy Dwight Lynn Hall after the officer caught the boy with a stolen car. The teen was repeatedly sexually assaulted in prison. In 1990, he escaped from an off-site vocational program, purchased a knife, and encountered Vann in her car in a parking lot. When she refused to drive him away, he fatally stabbed her.
In 1991, Dillbeck was sentenced to death by a jury with eight people voting in favor of death and four against. At the time, jurors could recommend a death sentence with a simple majority.
“As the clerk read the sentence aloud, one juror wept uncontrollably,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported, referencing the newspaper’s archives. “Readers wrote to the newspaper disturbed by how such an arbitrary split could still send someone to death row, or by how Dillbeck’s history of childhood trauma seemed to have granted him some, but not enough, mercy.”
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of Florida’s death penalty system, ruling that it did not give jurors enough of a role in determining the fate of the defendant. Later that year, the state legislature amended the statute to require at least 10 jurors recommend a death sentence in order for a judge to impose the punishment. The Florida Supreme Court subsequently held that it is unconstitutional for judges to impose death sentences with a non-unanimous jury recommendation. In March 2017, state lawmakers amended its death penalty law again to require unanimous jury decisions.
But in 2020, the Florida Supreme Court made a stunning reversal. By then, three of the liberal and moderate justices had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. The court majority reinstated the non-unanimous death sentence of a man named Mark Poole, finding, “Our court was wrong” in 2016. The 2020 decision found that only jury decisions about whether an individual is eligible for the death penalty need to be unanimous — not the actual decision to impose the sentence.
“The majority returns Florida to its status as an absolute outlier among the jurisdictions in this country that utilize the death penalty,” Justice Jorge Labarga wrote in a dissent. “Further, the majority removes an important safeguard for ensuring that the death penalty is only applied to the most aggravated and least mitigated of murders. In the strongest possible terms, I dissent.”
Strapped to a gurney, death row inmate Donald Dillbeck saves his last words for DeSantis
Kathryn Varn, Tallahassee Democrat
Thu, February 23, 2023
RAIFORD — Donald Dillbeck didn’t mince words in the minutes before the state executed him Thursday night.
“I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up,” Dillbeck, 59, said, strapped to a gurney in the Florida State Prison death chamber. “But I know (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. He’s taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. He’s put his foot on our necks.”
Then, at 6:02 p.m., Florida Department of Corrections workers began to administer the first of three drugs to sedate him, paralyze him and stop his heart. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:13 p.m.
In the witness gallery, family members of Faye Lamb Vann, who Dillbeck stabbed to death in 1990, looked on with stony expressions. They opted not to speak to reporters afterward, but prison system spokeswoman Michelle Glady distributed a written statement from two of Vann’s children.
Here's the latest:Donald Dillbeck execution will move forward after Supreme Court rejects stay.
Dillbeck's last words:Donald Dillbeck used his last words to criticize and insult Ron DeSantis
“11,932 days ago Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our mother,” Tony and Laura Vann wrote. “We were robbed of years of memories with her and it has been very painful ever since. However, the execution has given us some closure.”
They added that they were grateful to DeSantis for carrying out the sentence.
In the minutes after the lethal injection procedure began, Dillbeck, covered with a sheet up to his armpits, clenched his jaw and puffed up his cheeks several times. His chest and left arm twitched. At 6:05 p.m., prison workers tapped his eyelashes and grabbed his shoulders, saying “Hey Dillbeck.” He didn’t react.
As 6:06 turned to 6:07, his mouth fell open, and his body became still. By 6:10, his face grew ashen. A physician checked his eyes and put a stethoscope to his chest before pronouncing him dead.
Death penalty in Florida: Here’s what to know about executions, death row
It had been 32 years since Dillbeck was sentenced to death, and Lamb wasn’t his only victim. At the time of her murder, Dillbeck had escaped from a work-release catering job in Gadsden County, where he was serving a life sentence for killing Lee County Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall, 31.
Dillbeck trudged in the woods along Highway 90 to Tallahassee and tried to carjack a vehicle, according to court documents. Vann, who was sitting in the car while her sons and grandchild returned clothing inside, resisted. Dillbeck stabbed her to death and slit her throat with a paring knife.
Along with Vann’s family, two men who said they worked with Hall at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office made the trip to the prison. While they couldn’t witness the execution, they waited in the grass across the street.
“This has been 44 years of waiting,” said Bill Rogers, 70. “We’re the old guys now.”
Rogers and Tony Vetter, 67, both of Fort Myers, said they were on duty the night Dillbeck killed Hall. Dillbeck, 15 at the time, was on the run from Indiana authorities who wanted him for a carjacking. Hall approached the car Dillbeck was sleeping in, and the teen ran away. Hall caught up and, as he tackled Dillbeck, his gun came out of the holster. Dillbeck shot and killed him.
“One person’s bad enough. But he did two, and he did the second brutal,” Rogers said of Dillbeck’s victims. “Nobody should ever be ecstatic about somebody being put to death, but there had to be consequences.”
On his last day in prison, Dillbeck awoke early and went through his normal routine, Glady told reporters Thursday afternoon. He visited with his spiritual adviser, she said. At 9:45 a.m., he had his last meal: fried shrimp, mushrooms, onion rings, butter pecan ice cream, pecan pie and a chocolate bar.
His execution was Florida’s first in more than three years, and the 100th since the Supreme Court allowed the practice to resume in 1975. The Supreme Court on Wednesday night rejected a last-minute appeal by Dillbeck’s attorneys, who argued the neurological impact of his biological mother’s heavy drinking during her pregnancy, and abuse after he was born, should be reason for the justices to spare his life.
DeSantis signed Dillbeck’s death warrant exactly a month ago, on Jan. 23. When asked why Dillbeck, a spokesman pointed to the details of the crime. The COVID-19 pandemic and state emergencies, like hurricanes, contributed to the years-long gap in executions, the spokesman said.
“With the signing of Mr. Dillbeck’s warrant,” spokesman Jeremy Redfern said, “the process has resumed.”
However, opponents of the death penalty believe politics, and DeSantis’ widely expected run for president, also played a role.
The same day DeSantis signed Dillbeck’s warrant, he floated the idea to lower the jury threshold to recommend a death sentence from unanimity, which is required by current state law, to 8-4. About a week later, Republican lawmakers filed a pair of bills that would make that change and also allow a judge to override a jury’s recommendation for life in prison and sentence death instead.
The jury in Dillbeck’s case had the same breakdown: eight for death and four for life.
Seminole Rep. Berny Jacques, who sponsored the House version of the bill, pointed to his frustration at the result of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre. In that case, jurors, split 9-3, spared the life of the shooter, outraging the governor, state lawmakers and some family members of the 17 victims.
“It’s whether or not a small number can basically derail the true administration of justice, and we think that it shouldn’t be left to a small amount,” Jacques said.
Death penalty experts said the proposed legislation is almost identical to a prior version of Florida’s capital sentencing scheme that was struck down in 2016. While Jacques said he feels comfortable it will pass constitutional muster, critics of the law are concerned the courts would strike it down again and that it would ultimately move Florida backwards while other states have trended away from using the ultimate punishment.
“There will not be finality,” said Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, of the disservice such a constitutional challenge would have for crime victims. “There will be instability and unreliability in the system and years of litigation in court over the constitutionality of this system.”
Following the execution, DeLiberato issued a statement emphasizing Dillbeck’s history of childhood trauama and abuse in the adult prison system after he was sentenced in Hall’s murder.
“The death penalty does not keep our communities safer,” she said. “Protecting vulnerable children, and making sure the abused and traumatized and mentally ill have access to mental health care — that’s how we keep our community safer. That’s how we end the cycle of violence. We are better than this.”
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida execution: Donald Dillbeck saves last words for Gov. DeSantis
“I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up,” Dillbeck, 59, said, strapped to a gurney in the Florida State Prison death chamber. “But I know (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. He’s taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. He’s put his foot on our necks.”
Then, at 6:02 p.m., Florida Department of Corrections workers began to administer the first of three drugs to sedate him, paralyze him and stop his heart. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:13 p.m.
In the witness gallery, family members of Faye Lamb Vann, who Dillbeck stabbed to death in 1990, looked on with stony expressions. They opted not to speak to reporters afterward, but prison system spokeswoman Michelle Glady distributed a written statement from two of Vann’s children.
Here's the latest:Donald Dillbeck execution will move forward after Supreme Court rejects stay.
Dillbeck's last words:Donald Dillbeck used his last words to criticize and insult Ron DeSantis
“11,932 days ago Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our mother,” Tony and Laura Vann wrote. “We were robbed of years of memories with her and it has been very painful ever since. However, the execution has given us some closure.”
They added that they were grateful to DeSantis for carrying out the sentence.
In the minutes after the lethal injection procedure began, Dillbeck, covered with a sheet up to his armpits, clenched his jaw and puffed up his cheeks several times. His chest and left arm twitched. At 6:05 p.m., prison workers tapped his eyelashes and grabbed his shoulders, saying “Hey Dillbeck.” He didn’t react.
As 6:06 turned to 6:07, his mouth fell open, and his body became still. By 6:10, his face grew ashen. A physician checked his eyes and put a stethoscope to his chest before pronouncing him dead.
Death penalty in Florida: Here’s what to know about executions, death row
It had been 32 years since Dillbeck was sentenced to death, and Lamb wasn’t his only victim. At the time of her murder, Dillbeck had escaped from a work-release catering job in Gadsden County, where he was serving a life sentence for killing Lee County Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall, 31.
Dillbeck trudged in the woods along Highway 90 to Tallahassee and tried to carjack a vehicle, according to court documents. Vann, who was sitting in the car while her sons and grandchild returned clothing inside, resisted. Dillbeck stabbed her to death and slit her throat with a paring knife.
Along with Vann’s family, two men who said they worked with Hall at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office made the trip to the prison. While they couldn’t witness the execution, they waited in the grass across the street.
“This has been 44 years of waiting,” said Bill Rogers, 70. “We’re the old guys now.”
Rogers and Tony Vetter, 67, both of Fort Myers, said they were on duty the night Dillbeck killed Hall. Dillbeck, 15 at the time, was on the run from Indiana authorities who wanted him for a carjacking. Hall approached the car Dillbeck was sleeping in, and the teen ran away. Hall caught up and, as he tackled Dillbeck, his gun came out of the holster. Dillbeck shot and killed him.
“One person’s bad enough. But he did two, and he did the second brutal,” Rogers said of Dillbeck’s victims. “Nobody should ever be ecstatic about somebody being put to death, but there had to be consequences.”
On his last day in prison, Dillbeck awoke early and went through his normal routine, Glady told reporters Thursday afternoon. He visited with his spiritual adviser, she said. At 9:45 a.m., he had his last meal: fried shrimp, mushrooms, onion rings, butter pecan ice cream, pecan pie and a chocolate bar.
His execution was Florida’s first in more than three years, and the 100th since the Supreme Court allowed the practice to resume in 1975. The Supreme Court on Wednesday night rejected a last-minute appeal by Dillbeck’s attorneys, who argued the neurological impact of his biological mother’s heavy drinking during her pregnancy, and abuse after he was born, should be reason for the justices to spare his life.
DeSantis signed Dillbeck’s death warrant exactly a month ago, on Jan. 23. When asked why Dillbeck, a spokesman pointed to the details of the crime. The COVID-19 pandemic and state emergencies, like hurricanes, contributed to the years-long gap in executions, the spokesman said.
“With the signing of Mr. Dillbeck’s warrant,” spokesman Jeremy Redfern said, “the process has resumed.”
However, opponents of the death penalty believe politics, and DeSantis’ widely expected run for president, also played a role.
The same day DeSantis signed Dillbeck’s warrant, he floated the idea to lower the jury threshold to recommend a death sentence from unanimity, which is required by current state law, to 8-4. About a week later, Republican lawmakers filed a pair of bills that would make that change and also allow a judge to override a jury’s recommendation for life in prison and sentence death instead.
The jury in Dillbeck’s case had the same breakdown: eight for death and four for life.
Seminole Rep. Berny Jacques, who sponsored the House version of the bill, pointed to his frustration at the result of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre. In that case, jurors, split 9-3, spared the life of the shooter, outraging the governor, state lawmakers and some family members of the 17 victims.
“It’s whether or not a small number can basically derail the true administration of justice, and we think that it shouldn’t be left to a small amount,” Jacques said.
Death penalty experts said the proposed legislation is almost identical to a prior version of Florida’s capital sentencing scheme that was struck down in 2016. While Jacques said he feels comfortable it will pass constitutional muster, critics of the law are concerned the courts would strike it down again and that it would ultimately move Florida backwards while other states have trended away from using the ultimate punishment.
“There will not be finality,” said Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, of the disservice such a constitutional challenge would have for crime victims. “There will be instability and unreliability in the system and years of litigation in court over the constitutionality of this system.”
Following the execution, DeLiberato issued a statement emphasizing Dillbeck’s history of childhood trauama and abuse in the adult prison system after he was sentenced in Hall’s murder.
“The death penalty does not keep our communities safer,” she said. “Protecting vulnerable children, and making sure the abused and traumatized and mentally ill have access to mental health care — that’s how we keep our community safer. That’s how we end the cycle of violence. We are better than this.”
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida execution: Donald Dillbeck saves last words for Gov. DeSantis
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