Brian Dorsey, convicted of murdering his cousin and her husband, put to death amid efforts by many to have his sentence commuted

Brian Dorsey, who was convicted of murdering his cousin and her husband in 2006, was executed in Missouri’s Bonne Terre state prison Tuesday despite an extraordinary effort by corrections officials and his appeals judge to have his capital sentence commuted.

Prison officials confirmed that Dorsey had been put to death by lethal injection. They said he had been pronounced dead at 6.11pm.

Petition argues that Brian Dorsey is fully rehabilitated and that execution would violate eighth amendment

Attorneys for a Missouri death row inmate have asked the US supreme court to block an execution sentence from going ahead on Tuesday, following a petition for clemency from more than 70 correctional officers and a letter from the inmate’s appeals court judge.

The petition – a writ of certiorari – asks the court to spare Brian Dorsey’s life in favor of a life without parole sentence based on grounds that he is fully rehabilitated and therefore execution would be counter to the eighth amendment constitutional ban against punishments which serve no deterrent or rehabilitation purpose.