Hundreds Ask Missouri Governor to Grant Dorsey Clemency

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Image copyright: Per-Anders Pettersson/Contributor/Hulton Archive via Hulton Archive

The Facts

  • More than 150 people, including 70 current and former prison workers, have asked Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to grant clemency to Brian Dorsey, who is scheduled to be executed next week for murdering his cousin and her husband in 2006.

  • Dorsey on Tuesday filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), arguing that his attorneys provided "grossly deficient representation in a capital case." Appointed through the Missouri State Public Defender, his lawyers were each paid a flat fee of $12K.

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The Spin

Narrative A

Parson should grant Dorsey clemency. Prison workers, and even the judge who upheld his death sentence, are unified in their belief that Dorsey was failed by the justice system. Dorsey has been a model citizen for the past 18 years, and he shouldn't die because he wasn't allowed proper counsel.

New York Times

Narrative B

This outpouring of support for Dorsey is turning him from a cold-blooded murderer into a victim, but Parson can't let it affect him. No one is questioning whether Dorsey committed these heinous crimes and his conviction has been upheld multiple times. Dorsey must be punished for what he did.

AGO

Metaculus Prediction