On this day, Jan. 17, in 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah. His death marked the return of capital punishment to the American justice system.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty qualified as “cruel and unusual punishment,” mainly because states used it capriciously. The court ended the ban in 1976 as long as states created specific guidelines for imposing death sentences.
Gilmore shot and killed a service station clerk and a hotel manager. He killed both victims even though they complied with his demands.
Gilmore was sentenced to death and gained notoriety for fighting to have his execution, telling civil rights and religions leaders, “Butt out. This is my life and this is my death.”
His last words were “Let’s do it!”
— Scott McCabe
