Anti-death penalty advocates are reacting to the execution of a man who is scheduled to be put to death this week.
Donald David Dillbeck, 59, is scheduled to die on Thursday by lethal injection for the 1990 murder of Faye Vann in Tallahassee, Florida, US.
He had escaped from custody two days earlier while serving a life sentence for the death of Lee County Deputy Sherriff Dwight Lynn Hall in 1979.
It is set to be Florida's first execution since Gary Ray Bowles was put to death in June 2019 and the longest the state has gone without carrying out an execution since 1983.
Advocates are gathering in Florida to protest against the death penalty and endorse its elimination, it was reported.
The protesters argue that "killing people who kill people" does not send the right message and that "there are better ways to punish criminals".
SueZann Bosler, co-founder of Journey of Hope and a member of the organisation Death Penalty Action, is among those who are speaking out against the execution.
She told Fox News: "Why kill people who kill people to show Americans killing people is wrong?"
If it goes ahead, it will be Florida's first execution since Gary Ray Bowles was put to death in June 2019 and the longest the state has gone without carrying out an execution since 1983.
Dillbeck escaped while participating in an off-site vocational program in Quincy, according to the governor's office.
He bought a knife while walking to Tallahassee in the next county over, then stabbed Vann in a shopping mall parking lot and took her car, according to court records.
He crashed nearby before being caught. Vann was waiting in the car alone while her family shopped.
He had served 11 years of a life sentence after being convicted of killing Hall. According to court records, Hall had approached Dillbeck in a Fort Myers beach parking lot and Dillbeck ran away.
When Hall caught up to him, Dillbeck grabbed Hall’s gun and shot him twice. Dillbeck confessed to the murder, according to the governor's office.
Ron DeSantis, who was sworn in for a second term as Florida's governor, last signed a death warrant in September 2019 for the execution of James Dailey, who was convicted of the 1985 murder of 14-year-old Shelly Boggio.
But the execution was delayed by the courts and never rescheduled.
In Florida, where 301 people are currently on death row, an execution date is set by the governor, who signs a death warrant.
By comparison, in Texas — the nation's most active death penalty state — a court determines execution dates.
