LA survivor of killer's attack refuses to attend his execution

LA survivor of killer's attack refuses to attend his execution
MATT GOURAS
Associated Press
DEER LODGE, Mont. - The Friday morning execution of convicted killer David
Dawson went exactly as planned, with prison officials saying they kept to
within 30 seconds of their schedule.

In his final hours, Dawson listened to music through ear plugs and ate a
meal that included two cheeseburgers, two orders of fries and a half-gallon
of ice cream. Even at the end, with extended family members of the victims
he killed watching, Dawson showed no remorse.

Asked by Warden Mike Mahoney if he wished to make a final statement, Dawson
quickly responded "No."

The sole survivor of the attack on the Rodstein family 20 years ago, a
daughter named Amy who lives in Los Angeles, declined to attend the
execution. Through a statement she said, "Instead of dwelling on the
horrible events that transpired, I concentrate on moving forward."

The uncle who raised her, William Rust, said he was making good on a promise
made two decades ago to watch Dawson die.

"What will I tell Amy?" he told reporters after the execution. "At 12:06
a.m. he was gone."

Prison officials stuck to a rigid schedule that had Dawson injected with
lethal drugs promptly at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Within minutes, after one
noticeable deep breath, his breathing quickly stopped completely. A coroner
then pronounced him dead after checking for a pulse and other life signs.

The "death chamber" was nearly silent during the process - the only noise
being that made by media witnesses scribbling notes on notepads. None of the
witnesses present showed any emotion and were ushered from the chamber
immediately after Dawson was pronounced dead. Warden Mike Mahoney
characterized the mood among witnesses as "serious" and somber.

Next to the death chamber, windows of the maximum security unit where Dawson
has been housed were covered with plastic foam insulation to prevent other
inmates from looking out.

The entire prison was quieter than usual throughout the day, Mahoney added,
with other inmates obviously aware of Dawson's fate. It was the first
execution in Montana since 1998.

"I can't say enough for the staff today," Mahoney said. "The schedule
clicked off like we had planned for years."

Mahoney said Dawson never showed any emotion or expressed remorse for the
crime in all the years he dealt with him.

Dawson's execution capped a busy final 24 hours as civil liberties groups
fought in the courts to delay his death. They contend mounting evidence
shows lethal injection can be painful. The case got little traction in the
courts since Dawson has fought for two years to fire his attorneys, end his
appeals and have his sentence carried out.

Roughly two dozen protesters held a vigil outside the prison.

In addition to media representatives, witnesses to the execution included
two family members of the victims, the original investigator and prosecutor
in the case and other officials.

Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos, a deputy county attorney 20
years ago when he successfully prosecuted Dawson, criticized how long it
took to carry out the sentence.

"It is frustrating," he said. "It just seems to me we have to find a better
way, a quick way to do this."

Dawson was sentenced to death in 1987 for taking captive David and Monica
Rodstein and their two children for days in a motel room in Billings. David
and Monica and their 11-year-old son, Andrew, were murdered one by one. A
daughter, Amy, was rescued by police who had launched a search for the
missing family.

Jim Lukaszewski, the brother of Monica Rodstein, called Dawson a "coward"
and said he was glad Dawson chose not to speak before being put to death.

Rust said he believes "something is wrong with the system when it takes 20
years to put someone like this away."



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