Missouri Governor Rejects Clemency for Convicted Killer David Hosier

David Hosier, 69, is set to be executed for the 2009 murder of a married couple. He has expressed frustration over his clemency petition, maintaining his innocence.

Missouri will conduct its second execution of the year Tuesday after Gov. Mike Parson rejected Hosier’s clemency request. Hosier, who will die by lethal injection, feels his legal team failed him, stating, “I don’t feel like they’ve been representing me at all.”

Hosier maintains his innocence in the murders of Angela and Rodney Gilpin in Jefferson City. His 19-page clemency petition cites childhood trauma from his father’s murder as a mitigating factor, a point he disagreed with, preferring his lawyers focus on the lack of DNA evidence.

Prosecutors portrayed Hosier as a vengeful ex-lover. Court documents revealed that Gilpin had sought a protective order against Hosier, fearing for her safety. After the murders, police arrested Hosier in Oklahoma, finding 15 loaded firearms, ammunition, and a threatening note in his car. Hosier claimed he wasn’t fleeing but taking a drive to clear his mind.

Despite his claims of innocence and the absence of DNA evidence linking him to the crime, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld his conviction in 2019. Hosier rejected a plea deal that would have spared him the death penalty. His lawyers missed an appeal deadline, leaving no further appeals pending.

Democratic Reps. Cori Bush and Emmanuel Cleaver urged Gov. Parson to halt the execution, but Parson declined, stating, “Ms. Angela Gilpin had her life stolen by David Hosier because he could not accept it when she ended their romantic involvement.” Parson emphasized that Hosier showed no remorse and deserved the maximum punishment.

Hosier, diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, remained defiant, asserting his innocence until the end: “I’ll still be innocent, even though I’m dead.”