FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida is set to execute a man on Tuesday for the 1991 murder of a Fort Pierce officer as families seek closure and lawyers plead intellectual disability.<\/p>\n
The case stems from a routine traffic stop on Jan. 18, 1991, when 29-year-old Sgt. Parrish pulled then-18-year-old Billy Kearse over in Fort Pierce for driving the wrong way down a one-way street.<\/p>\n
According to court records, Kearse couldn’t produce a license and gave several aliases. When Parrish tried to handcuff him, a struggle broke out. Kearse grabbed the officer\u2019s gun and fired 14 shots\u2014striking Parrish 13 times.<\/p>\n
While the tragedy of Sgt. Parrish\u2019s death is undisputed; defense attorneys and human rights advocates argue that carrying out the death warrant would cross a constitutional line.<\/p>\n
Defense teams offer two arguments:<\/p>\n
Intellectual Disability: Recent testing suggests Kearse functions at a cognitive level that should legally exempt him from capital punishment. Advocates emphasize that his impulsive actions at 18 were those of a teenager with significant cognitive impairments and a developing brain.A “Flurry” of Executions: Florida has accelerated its pace of capital punishment<\/a>. If it proceeds, Tuesday\u2019s execution will be the state’s third this year alone.<\/p>\n “Billy Kearse never should have been sentenced to death\u2014let alone executed,” stated capital defense attorney Maria DeLiberato, citing the neurological impulsivity common in late adolescence.<\/p>\n See also: Therapist accused of abusing autistic child faces felony charge<\/a><\/p>\n While legal teams make a final push for a stay, those closest to the fallen officer argue that justice has been delayed for far too long.<\/p>\n State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl<\/a> and Sgt. Parrish\u2019s widow, Mirtha Busbin<\/a>, met with Governor Ron DeSantis<\/a> last month to discuss the warrant. <\/p>\n For them, the 34 years of appeals and legal maneuvering have been an agonizing wait for a resolution they feel is long overdue.<\/p>\n