Former Marine who killed 6-year-old girl more than 4 decades ago set for execution in Florida

STARKE, Fla. -- A erstwhile Marine convicted of killing a 6-year-old girl much than 4 decades agone is scheduled Thursday to beryllium executed successful Florida, which would beryllium the grounds 16th decease condemnation carried retired nether Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Barring a last-minute reprieve, Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, is acceptable to dice by lethal injection astatine 6 p.m. Thursday astatine Florida State Prison adjacent Starke. Jennings was convicted and sentenced to decease doubly for the 1979 execution successful Brevard County, some of which were reversed connected appeal. The last proceedings successful 1986 resulted successful a 3rd decease sentence.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied his last entreaty Wednesday.

According to tribunal records, Jennings was a 20-year-old connected permission from the Marine Corps connected May 11, 1979, erstwhile helium took down a surface astatine the chamber model of 6-year-old Rebecca Kunash portion her parents were successful different room.

Jennings abducted the girl, took her successful his car to a canal and raped her, proceedings grounds showed. He past “swung her by her legs to the crushed with specified unit that she fractured her skull,” tribunal records show. The miss was past drowned successful the canal, wherever her assemblage was recovered aboriginal that day.

Jennings was arrested a fewer hours aboriginal connected a postulation warrant, wherever investigators recovered helium matched the statement of a antheral seen adjacent the Kunash location erstwhile Rebecca disappeared. Shoe prints recovered astatine the location matched those Jennings was wearing, his fingerprints were recovered connected the girl's windowsill, and his apparel and hairsbreadth were wet.

DeSantis has ordered much executions successful a azygous twelvemonth than immoderate Florida politician since the decease punishment was reinstated successful 1976. The erstwhile grounds was acceptable successful 2014 with 8 executions. After Jennings, executions this twelvemonth are scheduled Nov. 20 for Richard Barry Randolph and Dec. 9 for Mark Allen Geralds, which would bring the year's full truthful acold to 18.

At a caller quality conference, DeSantis explained the unprecedented fig of executions by saying his extremity is to bring justness to unfortunate families who person waited decades for the decease sentences to beryllium carried out.

“Some of these crimes were committed successful the '80s," DeSantis said. "Justice delayed is justness denied. I felt I owed it to them to marque definite this ran precise smoothly. If I honestly done idiosyncratic was innocent, I would not propulsion the trigger.”

Jennings has filed galore appeals successful authorities and national courts, astir precocious contending that helium went months without a lawyer anterior to DeSantis signing his decease warrant successful usurpation of his close to counsel. His existent attorneys besides accidental Jennings has improperly not had a clemency proceeding since 1988.

An anti-capital punishment group, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, sought U.S. Supreme Court reappraisal of the issues and what it called the politicization of the process.

“Florida's decease punishment strategy has go unrecognizable from the 1 the instrumentality promises,” said Maria DeLiberato, ineligible and argumentation manager for the group. “Bryan Jennings was near without a authorities tribunal lawyer for years, denied a clemency reappraisal successful this century, and past selected for execution due to the fact that of favorable governmental timing.”

In summation to the execution conviction, Jennings was sentenced to beingness successful situation for kidnapping, intersexual battle and burglary.

A full of 40 men person died by court-ordered execution truthful acold this twelvemonth successful the U.S., and astatine slightest 18 different radical are scheduled to beryllium enactment to decease during the remainder of 2025 and adjacent year.

Florida’s lethal injections are carried retired with a sedative, a paralytic and a cause that stops the heart, according to the authorities Department of Corrections.