Rapist killer ex-marine dies in agony on death row | US | News
The savage who kidnapped, raped and killed a six-year-old girl was sentenced to death. Bryan Frederick Jennings, a former U.S. Marine, was convicted 45 years ago of first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary and sexual assault of Rebecca Kunash. He kidnapped the young girl, drove her to the canal and raped her.
Jennings, who was just 20 at the time, then “swung her by her legs to the ground with such force that he fractured her skull,” according to court documents. The boy later drowned in the canal and his body was found the same day.
But last night, Jennings finally ended up on death row at the prison near Starke, Florida, where he had been incarcerated for decades since the horrific attack.
Just a visitor for the lonely beast
Florida Department of Corrections communications chief Jordan Kirkland revealed that the unscrupulous killer woke up at 4 a.m. on the day of reckoning and consumed his last meal, which consisted of a cheeseburger, fries and soda. Jennings received only one visitor before facing the ultimate punishment for his unspeakable act.
The 66-year-old killer will receive a lethal injection of three drugs, making it the record 16th execution in Florida this year.
Jennings chose not to make a final statement before his execution, but that didn’t stop his death from being a struggle.
‘I writhe in pain’
At 18:02, a deadly cocktail of three drugs flowed through his veins.
According to the ABC-owned My Sun Coast channel, Jennings’ body writhing in pain at 18:04, only to stop moving three minutes later as the life drained from his face.
By 18:10, its skin color had turned ashen, and a medical worker entered the death chamber at 18:19 to confirm the monster’s death.
Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said: “The execution was carried out without incident. There were no complications.”
Death penalty confirmed
Jennings was arrested hours after the girl’s rape on an unrelated traffic warrant and matched the description of a man seen near Kunash’s home around the time the little girl went missing. According to court documents, shoe prints at the scene were consistent with footprints worn by Jennings, her fingerprints were found on the girl’s windowsill, and her clothes and hair were wet.
Kenneth Eugene Smith was twice convicted and sentenced to death for a murder in Brevard County in 1979; both decisions were overturned on appeal. The third trial in 1986 resulted in another conviction and reaffirmation of the death penalty.
Smith was also sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the death warrant, has authorized more executions this year than any Florida governor since the nationwide reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The previous state record (eight executions) was set in 2014.
Two more executions are planned to be held in Florida on November 20 and December 9. If implemented, they would bring the state’s total number to 18 so far this year.
Governor DeSantis said the unusually high number of executions was driven by his desire to provide long-awaited justice to the victims’ families. “Some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s,” he said at a recent press conference.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt like I owed it to them to make this go smoothly. If I truly thought someone was innocent, I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.”
