Florida executes American convicted criminal Donald Dillbeck for 1990 murder while a fugitive

By Edward Era Barbacena

Florida executed a man on Thursday for murdering a woman in 1990 after he escaped from prison, stabbing her to death in a shopping mall parking lot in an attempted carjacking.

Donald Dillbeck, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the governor’s office said. He had been convicted in the murder of Faye Vann, 44, in Tallahassee near the state Capitol.

The execution was Florida’s first in nearly four years and the third under Gov. Ron DeSantis. By comparison, his immediate predecessor, current U.S. Republican Sen. Rick Scott, oversaw 28 executions.

Vann’s children, Tony and Laura, released a statement after the execution: "11,932 days ago, Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our Mother. We were robbed of years of memories with her, and it has been very painful ever since."

They thanked DeSantis for carrying out the execution, saying it "has given us some closure."