"replied, ""Let's do it."" The Rev. Thomas Meersman, the Roman Catholic prison chaplain, administered the last rites to Gilmore. After the prison physician cloaked him in a black hood, Gilmore uttered his last words to Meersman: """"Dominus vobiscum"""" (Latin, translation: ""The Lord be with you."") Meersman replied, """"Et cum spiritu tuo"""" (""And with your spirit."") In Utah, firing squads consisted of five volunteer law enforcement officers from the county in which the conviction of the offender took place. The five executioners were equipped with .30-30-caliber rifles and off-the-shelf Winchester 150-grain (9.7 g) SilverTip ammunition. The condemned was restrained and hooded,"
"that I die and I accept that."" During the time Gilmore was on death row awaiting his execution, he attempted suicide twice; the first time on November 16 after the first stay was issued, and again one month later on December 16. Gilmore was executed on January 17, 1977, at 8:07 a.m. by firing squad at Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah. The night before, Gilmore had requested an all-night gathering of friends and family at the prison mess hall. On the evening before his execution, he was served a last meal of steak, potatoes, milk and coffee but consumed"
"Gary Gilmore executed on television."" Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore (December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he committed in Utah. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a new series of death penalty statutes in the 1976 decision ""Gregg v. Georgia"", he became the first person in almost ten years to be executed in the United States. These new statutes avoided the problems under the 1972 decision in ""Furman v. Georgia,"" which had resulted in earlier death penalty statutes being deemed"
"and therefore unconstitutional. (The Supreme Court had previously ordered all states to commute death sentences to life imprisonment after ""Furman v. Georgia"".) Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in 1977. His life and execution were the subject of the 1979 nonfiction novel ""The Executioner's Song"" by Norman Mailer, and 1982 TV film of the novel starring Tommy Lee Jones as Gilmore. Gary Mark Gilmore was born in McCamey, Texas, on December 4, 1940, the second of four sons, to Frank and Bessie Gilmore. The other sons were Frank, Jr., Gaylen, and the writer and music journalist Mikal Gilmore. Frank"
"Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore (December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he committed in Utah. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a new series of death penalty statutes in the 1976 decision ""Gregg v. Georgia"", he became the first person in almost ten years to be executed in the United States. These new statutes avoided the problems under the 1972 decision in ""Furman v. Georgia,"" which had resulted in earlier death penalty statutes being deemed as ""cruel and unusual"" punishment,"
"requested that some of his organs be donated for transplant purposes. Within hours of the execution, two people received his corneas. His body was sent for autopsy and was cremated later that day. The following day, his ashes were scattered from an airplane over Spanish Fork, Utah. As Gilmore was the first person in the United States executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, his story had immense cultural resonance at the time. It continues to influence the works of writers, artists, and advertisers in the early 21st century. Before his execution, the December 11, 1976, episode"
"Ogden Police Department Officer Delroy White, who was a detective when he worked the case, observed: ""Andrews was the brains behind the whole deal, the one who organized it [...] Pierre was the enforcer."" Pierre and Andrews became notoriously hated prisoners at Utah State Prison and were particularly reviled on death row. In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore (also facing capital punishment) was reported to have said, ""I'll see you in Hell, Pierre and Andrews!"" as he passed their cells on the way to his execution by firing squad. However, ""The Deseret News"" reported that Gilmore's parting words to the"
"execution performed as soon as possible. He and Baker agreed to a suicide pact that resulted in each of them suffering temporary comas in November. On January 17, 1977, after appeals filed by lawyers on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (in defiance of Gilmore's wishes) were rejected by the US Supreme Court, Gilmore was executed by the method he chose: firing squad. He was the first person to be judicially executed in the United States since Luis Monge was executed in the Colorado gas chamber on June 2, 1967. Based almost entirely on interviews with the family and"
"Shot in the Heart Shot in the Heart is a memoir written by Mikal Gilmore, then a senior contributing editor at ""Rolling Stone"", about his tumultuous childhood in a dysfunctional family, and his brother Gary Gilmore's eventual execution by firing squad in 1977 for a murder he committed at a motel in Provo, Utah. In 2001, ""Shot in the Heart"" became an HBO film starring Giovanni Ribisi as Mikal, Elias Koteas as Gary, Sam Shepard as the brothers' looming father and Lee Tergesen as Frank Gilmore, Jr. The 1977 punk rock single ""Gary Gilmore's Eyes"" by the band The Adverts"
"to their single ""Son of Sam"" about David Berkowitz. The Police's song ""Bring on the Night"", from their 1979 album ""Reggatta de Blanc"", speculated on Gary Gilmore's possible feelings on the evening before the execution took place. In 1980, The Judy's released the song ""How's Gary?"" on their album ""Wonderful World of Appliances"". The song presumably asks Gary Gilmore's mother what's wrong with him, saying that he never comes out to play anymore. The song also inquires about the holes in his vest and why he is wearing a blindfold. Several playwrights have integrated the Gilmore story into their work"
"who voted in ""Furman v. Georgia"" (1972) to strike down several state capital punishment statutes, voicing concern over the arbitrary way in which the death penalty was administered. The Furman decision ended capital punishment in the U.S. until 1977, when Gary Gilmore, who decided not to appeal his death sentence, was executed by firing squad. White was not against the death penalty in all forms: he voted to uphold the death penalty statutes at issue in ""Gregg v. Georgia"" (1976), even the mandatory death penalty schemes struck down by the Court. White accepted the position that the Eighth Amendment to"
"The Executioner's Song (film) The Executioner's Song is a 1982 made-for-television film adaptation of Norman Mailer's 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The film is directed by Lawrence Schiller from a screenplay by Mailer. The movie is about the final nine months of the life of Gary Gilmore, beginning with his release from prison at the age of 35 after serving 12 years for robbery in Indiana. He is allowed to fly to Utah to live with Brenda Nicol, a distant cousin who was close to him and agrees to sponsor him. She tries to help him get"
"of the effect of gunshot wounds on his heart during his 1938 execution by firing squad, and afterwards his body was donated to the University of Utah School of Medicine, at his request. Utah's 1960 execution of James W. Rodgers became the last execution by firing squad in the United States for nearly two decades. Since 1960 there have been three executions by firing squad, all in Utah: Gary Gilmore was executed in 1977, while John Albert Taylor chose a firing squad for his 1996 execution, in the words of ""The New York Times"", ""to make a statement that Utah"
"Live,"" on October 20, 1979, featured guest host Eric Idle performing impersonations while strapped to a stretcher, assisted by orderlies. With the stretcher standing on end, Idle covered his eyes with a black blindfold and announced it as an impersonation of Gary Gilmore. In 1977, English punk band The Adverts wrote the song ""Gary Gilmore's Eyes"", a reference to the cornea transplantation. The founder of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, Dan Wieden credits the inspiration for his ""Just Do It"" Nike slogan to Gilmore's last words. Norman Mailer wrote a novel, ""The Executioner's Song,"" based on Gilmore's life; it won the Pulitzer"
"decision, the US Supreme Court refused to hear his mother's claim. The Court's ""per curiam"" opinion said that the defendant had waived his rights by not pursuing them. At the time, Utah had two methods of execution — firing squad or hanging. Believing a hanging could be botched, Gilmore chose the former, declaring, ""I'd prefer to be shot."" The execution was set for November 15 at 8 AM. Against his express wishes, Gilmore received several stays of execution through the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The last of these occurred just hours before the rescheduled execution date"
"under the Constitution. States worked to revise their laws. While his attorneys, the ACLU and his family try to persuade Gilmore to pursue more appeals, he argues to have the sentence carried out and becomes a national media sensation. Publishers and reporters vie to buy his story and film rights. The night before his death, family, friends and lawyers join Gilmore for a party on death row. On January 17, 1977, Gilmore is executed by firing squad, as he chose. He was the first person to be judicially executed in the United States after the execution of Luis Monge in"
"he knew it was wrong at the time. While he did have an antisocial personality disorder, which may have been aggravated by drinking and drugs, he did not meet the legal criteria for insanity. Gilmore withdrew his request. On October 7, the jury retired to deliberate and by mid-day, they had returned with a guilty verdict. Later that day, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty due to the special circumstances of the crime. Gary chose to not pursue habeas corpus relief in federal court. His mother, Bessie, sued for a stay of execution on his behalf. In a five-to-four"
"move forward with the death sentences of Dale Selby Pierre and William Andrews for crimes committed in 1974 prior to the reinstatement of capital punishment. They were later executed in 1987 and 1992, respectively. On January 17, 1977, Utah became the first state to execute a prisoner after the moratorium ended: Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad, having selected that method over hanging. Lethal injection was introduced in 1980 and in February of that year, the Utah State Legislature replaced the option of hanging with the option of lethal injection. The first bill proposing to eliminate the firing"
"was used in the soundtrack of the movie. The song is written from ""the point of view of a hospital patient who has received the eyes of Gary Gilmore in a transplant."" Shot in the Heart Shot in the Heart is a memoir written by Mikal Gilmore, then a senior contributing editor at ""Rolling Stone"", about his tumultuous childhood in a dysfunctional family, and his brother Gary Gilmore's eventual execution by firing squad in 1977 for a murder he committed at a motel in Provo, Utah. In 2001, ""Shot in the Heart"" became an HBO film starring Giovanni Ribisi as"
"facto"" moratorium on death sentences throughout the nation. The period of this ""unofficial"" moratorium on capital punishment began on June 2, 1967, with the execution of Luis Monge in Colorado. It would end nearly ten years later on January 17, 1977, with the execution of Gary Gilmore in Utah. Inmate: Execution: Luis Jose Monge's was the last execution both in Colorado and in the United States prior to the 1972 Supreme Court decision in ""Furman v. Georgia"". It would be almost ten years before any state would carry out another execution, the state of Utah executed Gary Gilmore on January"
"two 2-liter bottles of Coke. Just prior to the execution Moore asked the warden if he could borrow the keys to the prison, promising to ""bring them right back."" The request was denied. Part of his last words were, ""Now I know how Jesus felt before he got smoked."" As Moore lay dying, he whispered: ""I want the last word I say to be Jennifer, J-e-n-n-i-f-e-r."" Jennifer is the name of Moore's daughter by his niece Cindy Moore. He had a son prior to Jennifer, and another son after Jennifer. Moore was executed by lethal injection on May 16, 1997."
"and his predecessor had declined clemency. Mitchell's case had been heard twice by the US Supreme Court and twice by the California Supreme Court. His last words were """"I am Jesus Christ!"" There were no further executions in California until 1992, when Robert Alton Harris was gassed. The gas chamber was ruled unconstitutional in California in 1996. Aaron Mitchell (murderer) Aaron Mitchell (1930 – April 12, 1967) was executed in the gas chamber for murdering police officer Arnold Gamble in Sacramento on February 15, 1963. Mitchell was the last person to be executed in California before the Supreme Court of"
"of January 17. That stay was overturned at 7:30 AM, and the execution was allowed to proceed as planned. At a Board of Pardons hearing in November 1976, Gilmore said of the efforts by the ACLU and others to prevent his execution: ""They always want to get in on the act. I don't think they have ever really done anything effective in their lives. I would like them all — including that group of reverends and rabbis from Salt Lake City — to butt out. This is my life and this is my death. It's been sanctioned by the courts"
"two other people have been executed by firing squad in the United States, both in Utah: Gary Gilmore and John Albert Taylor. In contrast to Taylor, who said he chose the firing squad to embarrass the state, Gardner's attorney said that his client did not want to attract attention and simply preferred to die this way. Gardner's incarceration as Utah's then-youngest inmate on death row was not uneventful. A hearing was held on February 19, 1987, in which Gardner and other inmates claimed ""unconstitutional confinement"" in unsanitary conditions with poor food. On October 28, 1987, Gardner broke a glass partition"
"evening of July 19, 1976, Gilmore robbed and murdered Max Jensen, a gas station employee in Orem, Utah. The next evening, he robbed and murdered Bennie Bushnell, a motel manager in Provo. Although both men had complied with his demands, he murdered each of them. While disposing of the .22 caliber pistol used in both killings, Gilmore accidentally shot himself in his right hand, leaving a trail of blood to the service garage, where he had left his truck to be repaired prior to murdering Bushnell. Garage mechanic Michael Simpson witnessed Gilmore hiding the gun in the bushes. Seeing the"
"reinstated in the United States in 1976, when Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad on January 17, 1977. Following his conviction and death sentence Gilmore insisted he wanted to be executed, and for this reason some consider the national moratorium to have only ended in 1979 with electrocution of John Arthur Spenkelink, who resisted his execution. The ""July 2 Cases"" mark the beginning of the United States' modern legal conversation about the death penalty. Major subsequent developments include forbidding the death penalty for rape (""Coker v. Georgia""), restricting the death penalty in cases of felony murder (""Enmund v."
"The Executioner's Song The Executioner's Song (1979) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events related to the execution of Gary Gilmore for murder by the state of Utah. The title of the book may be a play on ""The Lord High Executioner's Song"" from Gilbert and Sullivan's ""The Mikado"". ""The Executioner's Song"" is also the title of a poem by Mailer, published in ""Fuck You"" magazine in September 1964 and reprinted in ""Cannibals and Christians"" (1966), and the title of one of the chapters of his 1974 novel ""The Fight"". Notable for its"
"deep and terrible choice most of us avoid between dying now and 'saving one's soul'"". In his analysis of ""The Executioner's Song"", critic Mark Edmundson said: from the point where Gilmore decides that he is willing to die, he takes on a certain dignity [...] Gilmore has developed something of a romantic faith. Gilmore's effort, from about the time he enters prison, is to conduct himself so that he can die what he would himself credit as a 'good death'. ""The Executioner's Song"" won the ""Playboy"" writing award in 1979 and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1980, and was"
"and the shots were fired at a distance of 20 feet (6 m), aiming at the chest. Prison officials stated that the firing squad comprised four men with live rounds, and one with a blank, so that the shooters could not be certain as to who fired the fatal shots. However, upon inspecting the clothes worn by his brother Gary at his execution, Mikal Gilmore noted five holes in the shirt. According to his memoir ""Shot in the Heart"", ""the state of Utah, apparently, had taken no chances on the morning that it put my brother to death."" Gilmore had"
"to recommend a reprieve, with a stall in Glasgow city centre. The petition received 30,000 signatures, but it was turned down. Miller was hanged at 8.02 a.m. on 22 December by official executioner Harry Allen, assisted by Robert Leslie Stewart. It was the last execution to take place at HMP Barlinnie. A theatre play about Miller's last days in the condemned cell, ""Please, Mister"" (the title comes from Miller's alleged last words on the scaffold), was written by Patrick Harkins and first performed in 2010. The initial production starred Iain De Caestecker (in the role of Miller) and David Hayman."
"only the milk and coffee. His uncle, Vern Damico, who attended the gathering, later claimed to have smuggled in three small, 50ml Jack Daniel's whiskey bottles which Gilmore supposedly consumed. In the morning at the time of execution, Gilmore was transported to an abandoned cannery behind the prison, which served as its death house. He was strapped to a chair, with a wall of sandbags placed behind him to trap the bullets. Five gunmen, local police officers, stood concealed behind a curtain with five small holes, through which they aimed their rifles. When asked for any last words, Gilmore simply"
"executed on December 2, 2005 by lethal injection, in the 1001st execution since the ""Gregg v. Georgia"" decision in 1976. His final statement was read before the execution by his lawyer. The one-and-a-half-page handwritten statement said in part: […]I hope that my execution brings the Smith family some peace. But now I want to say something to everyone who supports this or any execution. We are all sinners, so what gives you the right as a sinner to take away a gift that God gave.[…] He also mouthed the words ""I'm sorry"" while looking at Kathy Carpenter, one of Smith's"
"was delivered intravenously to calm Parsons before the deadly drugs were administered. At 12:10 a.m. on October 15, 1999, Parsons was executed by lethal injection. Seven minutes later, a physician checked Parsons' stopped heartbeat with a stethoscope and pronounced him dead at 12:18 a.m. Parsons' last words were: ""Love to my family and friends. And Woody, the rainbow warrior rules. Thank you."" His dead body was cremated after the execution and the ashes were given to his family. Parsons had mentioned to attorney Greg Sanders a hatred of homosexuals, and after the execution, prison spokesperson Jack Ford said that ""rainbow"""