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I believe that if there's one thing that separates a functioning justice system from a revolving door for the worst of the worst, it's the willingness to follow through on a death sentence. Florida just did that Thursday night, putting Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, to death by lethal injection for the 1979 abduction, rape, and drowning of little Rebecca Kunash, a six-year-old girl snatched right from her bedroom while her parents were in the next room.
It's the 16th execution in the Sunshine State this year, shattering any previous record and sending a message: Justice delayed might be inevitable, but justice denied ain't gonna happen on Ron DeSantis's watch.
Jennings was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison near Starke, after a three-drug cocktail did its work. When the warden asked if he had any last words, the guy who spent over four decades gaming the system bellowed a single, defiant "No." No remorse, no plea for mercy, just "No."
The victim's family kept their distance from the media scrum afterward, which is their prerogative after all these years. Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland confirmed it all went textbook smooth: "The execution took place without incident," he said. "There were no complications." In a world where everything seems to go sideways, at least this worked as advertised.
This makes 42 executions nationwide so far in 2025, per the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that's not exactly cheering from the rooftops for these executions, but facts are facts. That's the most since 2012, a sharp rebound from the dismal 11 in 2021, when the death penalty was basically on life support after peaking at 98 back in 1999. All 42 have come from 11 states, mostly in the South and Midwest where folks still believe in accountability.
Jennings was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison near Starke, after a three-drug cocktail did its work. When the warden asked if he had any last words, the guy who spent over four decades gaming the system bellowed a single, defiant "No." No remorse, no plea for mercy, just "No."
The victim's family kept their distance from the media scrum afterward, which is their prerogative after all these years. Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland confirmed it all went textbook smooth: "The execution took place without incident," he said. "There were no complications." In a world where everything seems to go sideways, at least this worked as advertised.
This makes 42 executions nationwide so far in 2025, per the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that's not exactly cheering from the rooftops for these executions, but facts are facts. That's the most since 2012, a sharp rebound from the dismal 11 in 2021, when the death penalty was basically on life support after peaking at 98 back in 1999. All 42 have come from 11 states, mostly in the South and Midwest where folks still believe in accountability.
Up in the leftist-run north? Zilch. And while President Trump has vowed to crank up federal executions, none have happened yet this year.
Jennings' saga is a masterclass in how the appeals racket turns "swift justice" into a bad joke. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1980, that got tossed on appeal. Same story with his second trial. It wasn't until the third go-round in 1986 that the third death sentence stuck, along with life terms for kidnapping, sexual battery, and burglary.
Jennings' saga is a masterclass in how the appeals racket turns "swift justice" into a bad joke. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1980, that got tossed on appeal. Same story with his second trial. It wasn't until the third go-round in 1986 that the third death sentence stuck, along with life terms for kidnapping, sexual battery, and burglary.
This baby-killer outlasted two of the prosecutors who nailed him, Rebecca's own dad, and four Florida governors since his first conviction. He even dodged a date with the needle in October 1989 when the state Supreme Court hit pause on four inmates the night before. Talk about nine lives.
The Death Penalty Information Center pegs the average death row stint at 20-24 years these days. Jennings' execution too forty-five. That's not justice; that's cruelty to victims' families.
The Death Penalty Information Center pegs the average death row stint at 20-24 years these days. Jennings' execution too forty-five. That's not justice; that's cruelty to victims' families.
Gov. DeSantis, who's been on a tear with this, nailed it at a news conference on August 12, in Tampa: "Some of these crimes were committed in the '80s. Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to [victims' families] to make sure this ran very smoothly. If I honestly thought someone was innocent, I would not pull the trigger." DeSantis gets it: The endless legal limbo isn't mercy; it's a middle finger to the Rebeccas of the world.
Back on May 11, 1979, Jennings, a 20-year-old Marine on leave, yanked the screen off a little girl's window, snatched her, raped her, beat her, and dumped her body in a canal where it turned up hours later. I hate the fact they called his military service into play. I'm a former Marine and this guy was a total disgrace to the uniform and the nation.
Back on May 11, 1979, Jennings, a 20-year-old Marine on leave, yanked the screen off a little girl's window, snatched her, raped her, beat her, and dumped her body in a canal where it turned up hours later. I hate the fact they called his military service into play. I'm a former Marine and this guy was a total disgrace to the uniform and the nation.
[He will rot in hell.]
Cops nabbed him that same day on a traffic infraction, and the evidence was a prosecutor's dream: He matched the neighbor's description, his shoe prints were at the scene, his fingerprints on the sill, his clothes and hair were soaked. Case closed, except for the four-decade sequel of appeals, including a fresh one claiming a right-to-counsel violation after his lawyer croaked in 2022.
Florida's racked up 122 executions since the Supreme Court greenlit capital punishment again in 1976, with over 250 souls still cooling their heels on death row. Before this year, the state maxed out at eight per calendar. DeSantis flipped the script because, as he sees it, enough is enough.
Two more executions are queued up: Richard Barry Randolph on Nov. 20, and Mark Allen Geralds on Dec. 9. If they go off without a hitch, Florida hits 18 for 2025. A veterans' group piped up this week begging for clemency for ex-military types on the row, fair point actually, only 12% of Florida's death row wore the uniform. But seven of the 18 executed or slated this year did serve, including Jennings. Doesn't change the math on monstrous crimes.
In the end, this isn't about vengeance; it's about closure. For Rebecca Kunash's family, it's 46 years late, but better than never. DeSantis is delivering what too many blue-state DAs won't: The scales balanced, one horror story at a time. If that's "extreme," sign me up.
Florida's racked up 122 executions since the Supreme Court greenlit capital punishment again in 1976, with over 250 souls still cooling their heels on death row. Before this year, the state maxed out at eight per calendar. DeSantis flipped the script because, as he sees it, enough is enough.
Two more executions are queued up: Richard Barry Randolph on Nov. 20, and Mark Allen Geralds on Dec. 9. If they go off without a hitch, Florida hits 18 for 2025. A veterans' group piped up this week begging for clemency for ex-military types on the row, fair point actually, only 12% of Florida's death row wore the uniform. But seven of the 18 executed or slated this year did serve, including Jennings. Doesn't change the math on monstrous crimes.
In the end, this isn't about vengeance; it's about closure. For Rebecca Kunash's family, it's 46 years late, but better than never. DeSantis is delivering what too many blue-state DAs won't: The scales balanced, one horror story at a time. If that's "extreme," sign me up.
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