In their quest to preemptively demonize potential Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (FL), member of the liberal media are using the recent execution of a convicted murderer in the Sunshine State to portray the governor as an even bigger threat than the killer himself, as David Strom writes for HotAir.com.

Particularly egregious in Strom's view was HuffPost's characterization of the justice finally meted out to a prisoner convicted of fatally stabbing a woman more than three decades ago, with the outlet suggesting that it is DeSantis who is the real villain.

Brutal murderer executed

At issue for HuffPost was the recent execution of Donald Dillbeck for the brutal murder of Faye Vann, a killing he committed after having escaped from a prison work-release job while on a life sentence received for another murder, that of Lee County Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall, as the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

Relatives of Vann witnessed Dillbeck's execution, and her son Tony and daughter Laura released a statement after the event took place.

Vann's children, “11,932 days ago, Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our mother.

“We were robbed of years of memories with her and it has been very painful ever since. However, the execution has given us some closer,” they added, also expressing their gratitude to DeSantis for allowing the death sentence to be carried out.

Dillbeck speaks

As Strom noted, however, the sentiments of the Vann family were nowhere near as poignant as the musings of Dillbeck himself, who reportedly used the last moments before his death to blast the state's Republican governor.

“I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up,” the condemned killer said, offering a brief glimmer of contrition.

Things then took at turn that only the likes of HuffPost readers would appreciate, as Dillbeck continued, saying, “But I know Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. He's taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. He's put his foot on our necks.”

“Ron DeSantis and other people like him can s**k our d***s,” Dillbeck concluded.

HuffPost: No contest

In HuffPost's estimation, according to Strom, the truly bad character in this sad story is not the man who killed multiple fellow citizens in cold blood, but rather the duly elected governor who signed his death warrant despite the fact that the jury imposing it did not do so unanimously.

In support of that highly questionable take, the outlet cited Florida capital defender Allison Miller who said, “I'm not minimizing what [Dillbeck] did to people, but he is most definitely a political pawn.”

Add to that HuffPost's sympathetic description of the abuse Dillbeck was said to have suffered as a child and of his mother's reportedly extreme alcoholism while pregnant with the would-be killer, and it is clear to Strom that the liberal outlet simply could not pass up the opportunity to cast DeSantis as the real evil in this tragic tale, particularly as his national profile continues to grow.

As the presidential primary season continues to heat up, there will likely be no shortage of mental and rhetorical gymnastics to which mainstream media outlets will go to paint Republican contenders in the most damning light possible, and HuffPost's regrettable take on the Dillbeck case is simply a small taste of things to come.