At 6:20 p.m. on Thursday, the state executed 66-year-old Bryan Jennings for the murder of a 6-year-old Brevard County girl in 1979.
He had no last words.
He was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, kidnapping with intent to commit sexual battery, sexual battery and burglary in 1986.
He is the 16th person executed in Florida this year, the most by the state in any single year.
His crime
In the early morning hours of May 11, 1979, Jennings, then a 20-year-old on leave from the Marine Corps, climbed into the victim’s room through her unlocked window after seeing her sleeping. He kidnapped her and drove her to a nearby canal, where he raped, murdered and drowned her, according to the court documents.
Jennings left the girl’s body in the water, where it was found that afternoon.
Jennings was arrested that day on an unrelated arrest warrant. As police investigated the death, they found a man matching Jennings’ description was seen in the area during the time of the kidnapping, and a footprint near the house matched his.
His fingerprints were also found on the girl’s windowsill, and Jennings’ clothes and hair were wet when he got home that night, according to his aunt who he was staying with at the time. His wet shoes were turned over as evidence.
Jennings eventually confessed to the crimes, but it was suppressed during trial. The court documents said the confession was obtained illegally.
He also told three of his fellow inmates, on separate occasions, about his crimes and how he had committed them, according to the court documents.
His punishment
Jennings was tried for his crimes three different times, with his first two convictions getting overturned.
The Supreme Court of Florida vacated the conviction and sentence of his first trial, in 1980, after finding the defense did not cross-examine a crucial witness due to a conflict of interest.
A few years later, Jennings was again convicted and sentenced to death during a retrial, and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed it. But Jennings appealed it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which told the Florida Court to reconsider, leading the conviction to be overturned again.
So, a third trial was scheduled for March 1986. The resulting conviction stuck.
Jennings presented some mitigating factors, but none were found to have merit.
Two psychologists testifying on Jennings’ behalf said his ability to conform to the law was impaired at the time, but the prosecutors’ psychologists found the opposite.
They argued his alcohol consumption that night shouldn’t be a factor, because he broke into the house and got back out without waking anyone else up, proving his cognitive abilities were relatively intact.
All of the possible mitigating factors were denied by the jury, leading 11 out of 12 to recommend a death sentence. The judge agreed and sentenced Jennings to death, again.
After a number of appeals were filed and denied, former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez signed a death warrant for Jennings in 1989, leading him to file for emergency relief.
The Florida Supreme Court ended up blocking the execution, and Jennings sat on death row for decades, until now.
On Oct. 10, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed another death warrant. This time, the execution went through.
Jennings’ requests to stop the execution, including at the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts, were denied.
The day of the execution
Members of the Our Lady of Lourdes church in Daytona Beach arrived by coach bus to the lawn across from the state prison.
They set up lawn chairs, signs and a tarp behind a wooden sign labeled supporters.
Donna Klaum, one of the church members, stood with the congregation in opposition of the death penalty, as she has done many times before.
Originally from Massachusetts, where capital punishment hasn’t been used in decades, she moved to Florida at age 70.
“It was just a shock to me to think that this was still done and with such frequency,” she said.
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty shares similar sentiments.
The newly appointed executive director, Grace Hanna, emphasized that Jennings did not have state-appointed representation when his warrant was signed.
Jennings committed this crime when he was 20 years old, and he’s 66 years old now. Hanna said this crime “essentially happened in another lifetime.”
She spoke to the church congregation as well. She said this execution doesn’t honor the victim’s life and “it doesn’t bring [the victim] back.”
She also read a statement from Jennings’ partner.
“The execution of a human being is an act of violence in the eyes of the world, because it is a cold, calculated and premeditated murder,” she read.
By 6 p.m., the scheduled time of the execution, the sun had set. The preacher led the congregation in prayer, illuminated only by spotlights and the headlights of police cars idling on the lawn.
They prayed for Jennings, for the victim, for the executioners and for everyone affected by violence.
And just after 6:15 p.m. they stopped for a moment of silence, during which Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” could be heard from a couple hundred yards away from Bill Campbell’s speakers.
Campbell stood on the other side, in an area labelled “opposition,” with his speakers and lawn chairs. But this time, he had two signs rather than his trademark one.
His signature poster had the words “Bye Bye” written on it with the names of the last nine people executed. Once one execution is over, he crosses out the name and writes the next one in.
He made another sign specifically for this execution. It said “shame on you,” a message to the church congregation for supporting a criminal like Jennings.
Campbell comes out in support of the death penalty to counter the protesters from the church, whose protests he calls ridiculous.
“You’re supporting criminals who abducted, raped and murdered a 6-year-old girl,” he said. “And they’re here in support of him.”
He said DeSantis is doing better than most other states at handling these “horrible criminals,” but “it’s a shame it takes so long.”
There are two more executions scheduled for 2025, one on Nov. 20 and the next on Dec. 12.
Contact Alexa Ryan at aryan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @AlexaRyan_.
Alexa is a second-year journalism and international studies students serving as the Fall 2025 Criminal Justice beat reporter. She previously served as a copy editor. She spends her free time running, traveling, having movie nights and going on random side quests with friends.
