Summary of Offense:
On the evening of June 17, 1974, in Jacksonville, Dougan, along with four accomplices, armed with a .22 caliber pistol and a knife, set out to kill a white person, whom they termed “devils.” While driving to Jacksonville Beach, the men picked up a hitchhiker named Stephen Orlando and drove him to an isolated trash dump. After arriving, the men ordered Orlando out of the car, threw him to the ground, and one of the accomplices began stabbing him with the knife. Dougan put his foot on the head of Orlando and fired two shots to his head, one striking Orlando in the cheek and the other in the ear – killing him instantly.
A note was attached to the body of Orlando, which read as follows: “Warning to the oppressive state. No longer will your atrocities and brutalizing of black people be unpunished. The black man is no longer asleep. The revolution has begun and the oppressed will be victorious. The revolution will end when we are free. The Black Revolutionary Army. All power to the people.”
In addition to the note, the offenders recorded a number of audio tapes concerning the murder and sent them to the victim’s mother, as well as local media outlets
Dougan was resentenced to death for the third time in Duval County on December 4, 1987.
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