Supreme Court of Missouri / Mar 20, 2024
State ex rel. Brian Dorsey, Petitioner, vs. David Vandergriff, Respondent; and In re Brian Dorsey, Petitioner, vs. David Vandergriff, Warden, Potosi Correctional Center, Respondent.
Brian Dorsey filed two petitions for writ of habeas corpus challenging his death sentence for first-degree murder, claiming actual innocence due to drug-induced psychosis, ineffective assistance of counsel from a flat-fee arrangement, and an Eighth Amendment violation based on his post-sentencing rehabilitation. The Missouri Supreme Court denied both petitions, finding Dorsey failed to present any legally cognizable claims for relief. The Court concluded his actual innocence claim lacked clear and convincing evidence, his ineffective assistance claim was procedurally barred and lacked merit, and his Eighth Amendment claim was a non-justiciable plea for clemency beyond the Court's authority.