We corrections officers know Brian Dorsey has changed. Gov. Parson, don’t execute him | Opinion

I spent 27 years as a correctional officer and investigator in the Missouri Department of Corrections, including many years at Potosi Correctional Center. I consider myself to be a law-and-order conservative, and I support the death penalty. But I, along with more than 70 current and former Missouri correctional officers, cannot support the April 9 execution of Brian Dorsey.

Dorsey has been under a death sentence in Missouri for 17 years, and there is no dispute that he committed murder. I strongly support the rights of crime victims, and do not intend any disrespect to Dorsey’s victims here. Yet, far from being the “worst of the worst,” Dorsey exemplifies the growth, transformation and redemption that are possible when someone is committed to turning their life around after making a terrible mistake. I have witnessed Dorsey’s deep and sincere remorse for his crime. He also has not had a single conduct violation during his incarceration, a remarkable record of good behavior.

I saw Dorsey’s hardworking, humble personality up close — not just because he is housed in the “honor dorm” at Potosi, but because he has served as the prison barber for well over a decade. This position, in which he cuts the hair and trims the beards of prison staff — even of Wardens Troy Steele and Don Roper — reflects the trust and respect entrusted to him. For many of us, once he started cutting our hair, we wouldn’t let anyone else do the job. Mr. Dorsey is an excellent barber and a kind and respectful man.

When I learned that Dorsey had been set to be executed, the news hit me hard. I then did something I have never done before and joined with more than 70 of my fellow current and retired Missouri correctional professionals to plead with Gov. Mike Parson to commute Dorsey’s death sentence to life in prison. As we wrote in our letter to the governor: “There isn’t a nicer guy than Brian. … We know that he was convicted of murder, but that is not the Brian Dorsey that we know.”

The very concept of “corrections” implies that we want incarcerated people to change their ways. Executing Dorsey would dishonor the hard work he has done to fulfill that objective. At the same time, taking Dorsey’s life would be especially traumatizing for many current and former Potosi staff members, myself included, who have come to respect and care for this exemplary inmate. I am sure that many more correctional staff than even the dozens who signed our letter would be profoundly harmed by Mr. Dorsey’s execution.

From my perspective after decades in corrections, I do not hesitate to say that executing Brian Dorsey would be a pointless cruelty. He is a good man who deserves Gov. Parson’s mercy. If granted clemency, I am confident that he will spend the rest of his life continuing to follow the path of transformation and redemption he has pursued faithfully for the past 17 years.

Tim Lancaster served as a correctional officer with the Missouri Department of Corrections from 1994 to 2008 and as an institutional investigator from 2008 to 2021.