Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, a former Marine convicted of the 1979 murder of 6-year-old Rebecca Kunash, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection in Florida. This execution would mark the 16th under Governor Ron DeSantis, setting a record for the most death sentences carried out by a Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated.
Jennings was 20 years old and on leave from the Marine Corps when he abducted Rebecca from her home. He raped her and then killed her by fracturing her skull and drowning her in a canal. He was arrested hours later matching the description of a suspect seen near the victim's home, and evidence such as shoe prints, fingerprints, and wet clothing linked him to the crime.
Jennings has been convicted and sentenced to death twice before, with those sentences being overturned on appeal. A third death sentence in 1986 has led to the current execution date. His final appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jennings' defense team has argued that he was denied his right to counsel for extended periods and has not received a clemency hearing since 1988. An anti-capital punishment group has also raised concerns about the politicization of the death penalty process in Florida and Jennings' lengthy delays in legal representation and clemency r... download the app to read more
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