David Thomas Dawson

David Thomas Dawson (20 October 1957 – 11 August 2006) was a convicted murderer. He was born in San Diego, California and executed at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana.

The crime

Dawson broke into a family's Billings, Montana motel room on 18 April 1986. He forced the Rodstein family to go to his room at the same motel, which was located directly next door to their own room. He bound the family of four with tape, gagged them, and took their money. Over the next two days, Dawson strangled three of the four family members: 39-year-old David Rodstein, his wife 39-year-old Monica, and their 11-year-old son Andrew. Their 15-year-old daughter Amy was found alive in Dawson's motel room two days after the murders.

Sentencing and execution

The trial for Dawson came to a close in February 1987. The jury deliberated about 14 hours and returned with guilty verdicts for three counts of deliberate homicide, four guilty verdicts for kidnapping each member of the Rodstein family, and a guilty verdict for robbery. Dawson waived the ability to appeal his conviction and sentence.

Dawson's last meal consisted of two double cheeseburgers, two large servings of French fries, half a gallon of vanilla fudge ripple ice cream, and two bottles of Dr Pepper. When asked if he had any last words, Dawson said "No." He was executed by lethal injection on 11 August 2006 under the authority of the state of Montana, the first execution in Montana in more than eight years.

See also

• Capital punishment in the United States
• List of individuals executed in Montana

References

• Correctional Offender Information Sheet. Montana Department of Corrections. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• David Thomas Dawson. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• USA (Montana): Death penalty: David Thomas Dawson (m). Amnesty International (2006-07-19). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• August 2006 Executions. Pro-Death Penalty.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• Becky Bohrer. Dawson’s last days. Helena Independent Record (2006-08-06). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• John MacDonald and Jennifer McKee. Dawson put to death six minutes past midnight. Helena Independent Record (2006-08-11). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• Gregg Tuttle. David Thomas Dawson: A Confounding Killer. Billings Gazette (2006-08-06). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• Gregg Tuttle. Death comes quietly to killer. Billings Gazette (2006-08-11). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
• Gwen Florio. Man convicted of three murders executed in Montana. USA Today (2006-08-11). Retrieved on 2007-11-10.