On this day, Jan. 25, in 1996, Billy Bailey became the last person to be executed by hanging in the United States of America. Bailey was sent to the gallows after he escaped from an Wilmington, Del., prison and killed an elderly couple at their farmhouse.
Delaware used an execution protocol that called a black hood and for a 30-foot hemp rope, boiled to take out any stretch and tendency to coil.
For his last meal, Bailey, 49, requested a steak, a baked potato, buttered rolls, peas and vanilla ice cream.
He was taken to the gallows, and at 12:04 a.m., the trapdoor was opened. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later.
Today, only the state of Washington still permits the hanging method of execution.
— Scott McCabe
