Billy Bailey (January 1947 – January 25, 1996) was a convicted

murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

who was

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

in 1996. He became the third person to be hanged in the United States since 1965 (the previous two were

Charles Rodman Campbell Charles Rodman Campbell (October 21, 1954 – May 27, 1994) was a convicted murderer who was executed by hanging in 1994 by the state of Washington. Crimes In December 1974, Campbell attacked 23-year-old Renae Wicklund while she was doing yard wo ...

and

Westley Allan Dodd Westley Allan Dodd (July 3, 1961 – January 5, 1993) was an American convicted serial killer and sex offender. In 1989, he sexually assaulted and murdered three young boys in Vancouver, Washington. He was arrested later that year after a failed ...

, both in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

), and the first person hanged in Delaware in 50 years. As of 2023, he remains the last person to be executed by hanging in the United States.

Early life

The ninth of 23 children, Bailey lived in stark poverty and suffered chronic physical abuse, state records show. His mother died when he was less than a year old. As an adult, Bailey was known to police as a brawler and a thief.

The crime

In 1979, after being convicted of forgery, Bailey was assigned to the Plummer House, a work release facility in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

, but soon escaped. He later appeared at the home of his foster sister, Sue Ann Coker, in

Cheswold, Delaware Cheswold is a town in Kent County in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census. History The town was incorporated in 1856 following the construction ...

, saying he was upset and was not going back to the Plummer House. He and Charles Coker, his foster sister's husband, went on an errand in Coker's truck. Bailey asked Coker to stop at a

liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

. Bailey entered the store and robbed the clerk at gunpoint. Emerging from the store with a pistol in one hand and a bottle in the other, Bailey told Coker that the police would be arriving, and asked to be dropped at Lambertson's Corner, about away. At Lambertson's Corner, Bailey entered the farmhouse of Gilbert Lambertson, aged 80, and his wife, Clara Lambertson, aged 73. Bailey shot Gilbert Lambertson twice in the chest with a pistol, and once in the head with the Lambertsons' shotgun. He also shot Clara Lambertson once in the shoulder with the pistol, and once each in the abdomen and neck with the shotgun. Both Lambertsons died. Bailey arranged their bodies in chairs, and then fled from the scene. He was spotted by a

Delaware State Police The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local ...

helicopter as he ran across the Lambertsons' field. He attempted to shoot the helicopter co-pilot with the pistol, and was later arrested.

Conviction

Bailey was found guilty of the murders in 1980. After his conviction, the jury found that his crimes "were outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman", and recommended a death sentence. Bailey was sentenced to be hanged by his neck until dead.

Preparations

Although the method of execution in Delaware had been changed to

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

in 1986, he had the legal option of choosing to be hanged instead. Bailey refused to accept lethal injection, telling a visitor, "I'm not going to let them put me to sleep." As Delaware had not carried out a hanging in 50 years, it sought advice from corrections officials at Washington State Penitentiary in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, where hangings had recently been performed. The wooden

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

were built on the grounds of the Delaware Correctional Center at

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...

in 1986, prior to a January 9, 1987, execution date for Bailey which was where he was staying. The structure required renovation and strengthening before Bailey could be executed on it. The platform housing the trap door was from the ground and accessed by 23 steps. Delaware used an execution protocol written by Fred Leuchter. This specifies the use of of diameter Manila hemp rope, boiled to take out stretch and any tendency to coil. The area of the rope sliding inside the knot was lubricated with melted paraffin wax, to allow it to slide freely. A black hood is specified by the protocol, as is a sandbag to test the trap door and a "collapse board" to which a prisoner can be strapped if necessary. The day before, Bailey was weighed as , and the drop was determined to be at around . Bailey was moved from his prison cell to the execution trailer used for lethal injection prior to the execution. There, he spent his last 24 hours, sleeping, eating, watching television, talking with staff, and meeting with his fifty-three-year-old sister, Betty Odom, the prison chaplain, and his attorney. For his last meal, he requested a well-done steak, a baked potato with sour cream and butter, buttered rolls, peas, and vanilla ice cream. His final appeals having failed, Bailey was executed on January 25, 1996. The gallows in Delaware were dismantled in 2003, because in that year, none of its death row inmates remained eligible to choose hanging over lethal injection.

References

External links