Bio 

Dean Kilgore was born on October 16, 1950. By July 31, 1978, Kilgore was serving two life sentences for first-degree murder and kidnapping, along with a five-year sentence for armed trespass. These prior convictions became central to his later capital case because the 1989 murder happened while he was already incarcerated in Florida.

While in prison, Kilgore had a relationship with another inmate, Emerson Robert Jackson. Court records stated that Jackson was Kilgore's boyfriend. The later killing occurred inside the prison system and was treated as a first-degree murder committed by an inmate already serving life sentences.

Murder Story

On February 13, 1989, Dean Kilgore was serving life sentences in Florida when he waited outside the cell of Emerson Robert Jackson. When Jackson appeared, Kilgore attacked him with a homemade shank knife and stabbed him three times. After the stabbing, Kilgore poured a caustic liquid onto Jackson’s face and into his mouth.

After the attack, Kilgore went directly to the prison administration building and admitted the killing to guards. He was later indicted on March 2, 1989, for first-degree murder and possession of contraband by an inmate.

On July 5, 1990, Kilgore entered a plea of nolo contendere to both charges. On July 13, 1990, the court entered guilty verdicts and sentenced him to death for first-degree murder. He also received a 15-year sentence for possession of contraband by an inmate, consecutive to the death sentence. He waived a jury advisory sentence during the penalty phase.

Immediately after sentencing, Kilgore filed motions to withdraw his plea and reduce or vacate his sentence. The Florida Supreme Court later relinquished jurisdiction so the trial court could consider those motions. On June 22, 1993, the trial court granted his motion to vacate the plea and sentence.

The case returned for further proceedings. On April 7, 1994, a jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 9–3. On April 27, 1994, Kilgore was resentenced to death. He appealed again, arguing several conviction-phase and penalty-phase issues, including jury instructions, competency evaluation, waiver of presence during jury selection, and the handling of mitigating circumstances. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and death sentence on August 29, 1996.

Kilgore continued postconviction litigation for years. His amended postconviction motion was denied in 2008. In 2010, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of his 3.850 petition and denied his state habeas petition.

Dean Kilgore was not executed. A later U.S. Supreme Court filing discussing Florida capital cases stated that Dean Kilgore died on death row of natural causes.