Florida death penalty opponents protest the execution of Donald Dillbeck

death penalty protest — Protesters hold signs on the corner of a busy Pinellas intersection. By Chris Young/WMNF News (23 Feb. 2023).

Thursday night, Florida executed a prisoner for the first time in three and a half years.

Opponents of the death penalty gathered in Pinellas County to protest the execution.

About twenty activists gathered on a busy intersection Thursday afternoon to protest the execution of Donald Dillbeck, a Florida prisoner convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1991.

John Stewart is with Floridians for Alternatives to the death penalty.

“He went into prison as a young man where he was repeatedly raped and abused, the system failed him, and now the system wants to kill him. We all want to be safe – Donald Dillbeck can’t live among us anymore, but there’s no need to kill him.” Stewart tells WMNF News.

One protester waved a sign that read “Executions are NOT Pro-Life”. Her name is Susan McGrath, and the reason she protests is personal.

“I myself am a survivor of violent sexual assault, and I believe that our penal system in Florida is broken and there’s nothing good about putting people to death,” McGrath says.

At 6:13 P.M., thirteen minutes after the protest ended, Dillbeck died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison.