Florida executed a man on Thursday for stabbing a woman to death in a mall parking lot in 1990 after he escaped from prison. The death of Donald Dillbeck by lethal injection was the state's first execution in nearly four years.
Dillbeck was 15 when he stabbed a man in Indiana while trying to steal a CB radio, court records show. He fled to Florida, where Lee County Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall found him in a Fort Myers beach parking lot. While Hall was searching him, Dillbeck hit the deputy in the groin and ran. Hall tackled him and as the two wrestled, Dillbeck took Hall’s gun and shot him twice.
Dillbeck, now 59, would have had the possibility of parole after serving 25 years years of his sentence for the deputy’s murder. During the carjacking, Dillbeck told Vann to drive because he had forgotten how, according to court documents. He crashed the car shortly after stealing it and was captured after running from the scene.A jury recommended 8-4 that he be executed.
DeSantis, who was reelected last November and who is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, was quiet on the death penalty during his first term. His office refused to answer repeated phone calls and emails about the lack of warrants signed since 2019. DeSantis also cut off an Associated Press reporter who asked about the long pause in executions and didn’t answer the question.
But DeSantis criticized a Broward County jury’s failure to sentence Nikolas Cruz to death for fatally shooting 17 students and faculty at a Parkland high school, and has since said he wants to change a 2017 state law that requires a unanimous jury recommendation to impose the death penalty so that one or two jurors can’t affect the sentence.Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida has been one of the most active states in carrying out executions.
Democratic Gov. Bob Graham oversaw 16 executions between 1979 and 1987. Martinez oversaw nine in his one term in office, Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles oversaw 18, and 21 prisoners were executed under Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Gov. Charlie Crist oversaw five executions in his single term in office.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Donald Dillbeck to be executed for 1990 Florida murder while a fugitiveFaye Vann was parked at a Florida shopping mall waiting for her family when an escaped prisoner serving a life sentence for killing a deputy approached her with a knife and demanded a ride.
Read more »
Photos: Modest 1,300-square-foot San Jose home sells for $2 million despite Bay Area’s falling home pricesPhotos: Modest 1,300 square foot San Jose home sells for $2 million despite falling home prices in Bay Area
Read more »
CCTV Footage Shows Alligator Dragging Florida Woman to Her DeathNew footage shows the harrowing moments before an alligator attacks and drags a Florida woman to her death.
Read more »
Demonstrators to rally in Jacksonville against Florida’s death penaltyDemonstrators plan to rally at the Duval County courthouse on Wednesday to oppose the death penalty, after rallying in both the Tampa and Orlando areas this week.
Read more »
Demonstrators rally in Jacksonville against Florida’s death penaltyAnti-death penalty advocates spoke out Wednesday, the eve of Florida’s first execution in nearly four years.
Read more »
Florida journalist shot to death covering shooting from earlier in the dayA central Florida TV journalist and a 9-year-old girl were fatally shot yesterday near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier that day, authorities said. Authorities said they’ve detained the man who they believe is responsible for both shootings.
Read more »