Florida Executes Donald Dillbeck on February 23, 2023

Donald Dillbeck, Florida

Updated: Thursday, February 23, 2023

On Thursday, February 23, 2023, Florida executed Donald Dillbeck.  Donald was pronounced dead at 6:13 pm local time, inside the execution chamber at the Florida State Prison near Raiford, Florida.  He was 59 years of age.  Donald was executed for murdering Faye Vann in Tallahassee, Florida on June 24, 1990, after he escaped from prison.  He spent the last 31 years of his life on death row in Florida.

Donald’s mother allegedly drank while she was pregnant with him, resulting in brain damage from fetal alcohol exposure. His father left him at the age of six, resulting in Donald being placed in foster care.

On June 6, 1979, Donald Dillbeck was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Lee County Deputy Sheriff Dwight Lynn Hall in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The deputy was attempting to apprehend Dillbeck. As the two struggled, Dillbeck grabbed Hall’s gun, shooting and killing the deputy. He later confessed to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

In June 1990, Dillbeck was working, along with other prison inmates, in Quincy, Florida. They were catering an event. Dillbeck walked away from the event. On June 24, 1990, Dillbeck arrived at the Tallahassee Mall. While on the run, he had procured a paring knife. He approached a woman, Faye Vann, sitting in a vehicle outside the Tallahassee Mall. When the driver resisted, Dillbeck stabbed her repeatedly, resulting in her death. Dillbeck took the car and fled the scene. A short time later he crashed the vehicle. Dillbeck was arrested a short time later by the police. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Dillbeck is the first execution in Florida since 2019.

Pray for the families of Dwight Hall and Faye Vann. Pray for strength for the family of Donald Dillbeck.

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