RAIFORD, Fla. — For the first time since 2019, the State of Florida has executed a man. Donald Dillbeck died after two decades of sitting on death row at 6:13 p.m. Thursday after receiving a lethal injection.
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In 1990, he stabbed a woman 20 times in a mall parking lot after escaping from a prison work release assignment. He also murdered a deputy in 1979.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for Dillbeck last month.
The family members of Faye Vann, the woman stabbed to death in 1990, provided a written statement to Action News Jax saying, “11,932 days ago, Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our mother. We were robbed of years of memories with her, and it has been very painful ever since.”
Several reports are saying Dillbeck’s last words were, “I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up,” before throwing remarks at the Governor.
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Dozens rallied against the death penalty during the execution process, one of which was Herman Lindsey, who was the 23rd Florida inmate to be exonerated while on death row.
“If you ask 100 people which one you [would] rather have, life in prison or die, most people would say, ‘I’d rather die than spend time in prison,’” Lindsey told Action News Jax’s Ben Ryan.
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Others who came out believe this was the right consequence for Dillbeck to face. They told Action News Jax off camera that they made sure to be here for the victims’ families, adding that this was justice for the brutal murders of Vann and Deputy Hall.
Dillbeck’s execution marks the 100th in Florida since 1976. Prior to Thursday, the Florida Department of Corrections listed 299 people on death row. Out of that number, 38 are from Duval County, 5 are from St. Johns County and 7 are from Clay County.