A Florida man on death row for murdering a mother said, just moments before his execution, that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis “has done a lot worse” things than him.
Fifty-nine year-old Donald Dillbeck was executed by lethal injection shortly after 6 p.m., on Thursday at Bradford County’s Florida State Prison. Dillbeck was convicted in 1990 of fatally stabbing a mother, 44-year-old Faye Lamb Vann, in a mall parking lot in Tallahassee, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Dillbeck was reportedly trying to carjack Vann while on the run after he escaped prison while serving a life sentence for the 1979 killing of a Lee County deputy.
Dillbeck used his final moments to criticize DeSantis, who signed Dillbeck’s death warrant.
My report from today. And just FYI, members of the media witness executions and report what we saw and heard as an accountability measure. The state is killing someone. There should be a record of exactly what happened. https://t.co/5kvAR9Oyak
— Kathryn Varn (@kathrynvarn) February 24, 2023
“I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up. 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,” Dillbeck said, according to Tallahassee Democrat. “He’s put his foot on our necks.” (RELATED: Meet The Convicted Killers Pennsylvania’s Dem Gov Wants To Save From Death Row)
DeSantis announced in January he wanted to make it easier for convicted criminals to receive the death penalty, since current law requires a unanimous jury to hand down a death sentence. Under DeSantis’ proposal, a supermajority would suffice to recommend a death sentence.
Dillbeck’s last meal included fried shrimp, mushrooms, onion rings, butter pecan ice cream, pecan pie and a chocolate bar, according to the report.