The prison inmate who beat to death a child killer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, ending a case that raised questions about whether an Orlando radio talk show encouraged the killing.
Arba Earl Barr, 33, will serve a life sentence to run concurrently with the 114-year term he is serving for other crimes. He killed Donald McDougall on Oct. 1 with a horseshoe stake at Avon Park Correctional Institute in Polk County.
Barr entered his plea on Wednesday in circuit court in Bartow. He could have faced the death penalty if convicted.
“As it stands, he won’t ever get out of prison,” State Attorney John Aguero said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, The Orlando Sentinel obtained a copy of a Sept. 25 radio broadcast in which the hosts and callers discussed what should be done to McDougall.
Russ & Bo on 104.1 FM (WTKS) dedicated their show to the 1982 death of McDougall’s victim, Ursula Assaid, 5, of Altamonte Springs.
During the broadcast, the hosts joked about lynching McDougall, encouraged inmates to beat him during a “blanket party” and read a letter to McDougall as though he were dead. A caller who identified himself as a prison inmate also told the hosts that prisoners were listening to the show and were angry about McDougall.
One caller suggested McDougall, who was scheduled to be released in April, be killed in prison like Wisconsin serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Another caller suggested that someone sharpen a spoon and shove it into McDougall’s throat. The hosts – Russ Rollins, Will “Bo” Rhodes – and sidekick “Dirty Jim” Colbert laughed.
McDougall’s death has stirred debate nationwide about whether the Orlando shock jocks, whose program is heard in several Florida prisons, went too far. The tape of the show was subpoenaed by attorney Rex Dimmig as part of Barr’s legal defense.
