Dawson was executed for the April 1986 murders of the Rodstein family in Billings, Montana.

[3] On April 18, 1986, Dawson broke into a motel room that was occupied by the Rodstein family in Billings, Montana.

Over the next two days, Dawson strangled three of the four family members: 39-year-old David Rodstein, his wife 39-year-old Monica, and their 11-year-old son Andrew.

[5] Their 15-year-old daughter Amy was found alive in Dawson's motel room two days after the murders.

[9] Dawson's last meal consisted of two double cheeseburgers, two large servings of french fries, half a gallon of vanilla fudge ripple ice cream, and two bottles of Dr Pepper.

[11][12] Dawson remains the third of only three people to be executed in Montana since the resumption of the death penalty.