Billy Bailey Executed For 2 Delaware Murders

Billy Bailey was executed by the State of Delaware for a double murder

According to court documents Billy Bailey would escape from a work release program and would break into the home of Gilbert Lambertson, aged 80, and his wife, Clara Lambertson, aged 73. The elderly couple would be fatally shot before he robbed the home

Billy Bailey would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Billy Bailey would be executed by hanging on January 25 1996

Billy Bailey Photos

Billy Bailey - Delaware

Billy Bailey Case

Convicted murderer Billy Bailey was hanged today, dropping silently from an outdoor gallows at the state penitentiary here in the most violent legal execution Delaware has performed in half a century.

Bailey, who shotgunned an elderly farm couple to death without provocation in 1979, was already standing on the 15-foot wooden platform when witnesses entered the compound in a distant corner of the Delaware Correctional Center at midnight. The noose swung beside him in a bitterly cold wind.

Bailey, 49, faced forward without expression, flanked by guards wearing black jumpsuits and black hoods held in place by baseball caps. One faced forward holding Bailey’s left arm. The other kept his back to witnesses and held the prisoner’s shoulder.

Warden Robert Snyder, standing farther to the right, at first did not hear Bailey’s reply when the condemned man was asked if he had any last words.

“Pardon?” Snyder said.

“No, sir,” Bailey repeated.

The guards then led the squat, 200-pound man onto the trapdoor, placed a strap around his ankles and pulled a black hood over his head and upper chest. The noose was fastened over the hood and tightened beneath Bailey’s chin.

Several times, Snyder felt at the hood to be certain that the top of the hangman’s knot lay beneath Bailey’s left ear, the placement old Army regulations specify to assure the straightening rope has the best chance of bringing quick death by severing the spinal cord. Finally, the warden stepped back and pulled a gray wooden lever with both hands.

The trapdoor opened with a thump. Five feet of manila rope followed Bailey through the hole and snapped taut 10 feet above the sodden ground.

Bailey’s body spun counterclockwise six times, then rotated once in the opposite direction. In the perhaps 20 seconds before Snyder released a canvas tarp to conceal the body, witnesses said, they found themselves thinking of a rag doll. One sleeve of Bailey’s denim prison jacket flapped in the bitter wind. His dangling feet wore new white tennis shoes.

Eleven minutes later, a voice behind the tarp announced that the official time of death was 12:15 a.m. A Correction Department spokeswoman later declared the execution had occurred “without complication.” An independent trauma surgeon said 11 minutes was not an unusual amount of time to wait for the pulse to stop after the spinal cord has been cut.

“The heart beats on its own,” said the surgeon, Willie C. Blair, of Greenbelt, Md. “That’s why we can transplant them.”

It was the first hanging in Delaware since 1946 and only the third in the United States since 1965. The two others took place in Washington state, where Delaware officials traveled to study a means of execution that in recent decades has given way to more sanitized methods.

After going decades without an execution, Delaware since 1992 has put to death five men by injection, which became the state’s official method in 1986. But Bailey chose to be killed according to his original 1980 sentence.

The 19th of 23 children, Bailey grew up amid stark poverty and chronic physical abuse, state records show. As a young man, he was known to police as a brawler and a thief. On May 21, 1979, after he learned that under a habitual offender statute, he faced life in prison for a check forgery conviction, he walked away from a work-release center. Weeping, he held up a liquor store, then he murdered Gilbert Lambertson, 80, and Lambertson’s wife, Clara, 73, in their farmhouse barely 10 miles from the gallows.

Bailey’s execution was seen by the couple’s sons, Saxton and Delbert Lambertson, who afterward shook hands with prosecutor Paul Wallace. A dozen other relatives and family friends waited outside, separated from death penalty opponents by two snow fences.

“When they know for a fact that someone did something, it shouldn’t take 16 years to execute him,” said Mary Ann Lambertson, who heard the shots and found the bodies of her in-laws slumped on the chairs where Bailey had arranged them. She said that half her father-in-law’s face was blasted away and that Clara Lambertson was shot through the hand she would bring to her breast when startled.

“One of ’em watched the other one get blown away,” said Dennis Lambertson, the grandson who now lives in the big yellow farmhouse where the murders occurred. “They were kind of old, feeble people. My grandfather kind of wobbled when he walked.”

Bailey had told his attorney earlier that he hoped his death would bring the family peace. The lawyer, Edmund D. Lyons, declared the execution “medieval.”

“The most chilling thing was the two fellows up on the platform with Bill with the hoods on their heads,” Lyons said.

“If we are proud of what we’ve done today, ask yourself why we do it in the middle of the night. If we are proud of what we’ve done today, ask yourself why we hood those who are part of the execution.”

Prison officials clearly were reluctant about the hanging, worrying openly about the mechanics of a process that can end in strangulation or decapitation. Officers spent hours practicing on gallows first refurbished for Bailey in 1986. Today a non-skid safety strip was affixed to each of the 23 steps.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Thomas R. Carper (D) acknowledged that the method was “awkward.” It divided even those who braved biting winds to show their support for capital punishment.

“I don’t think hanging is a good idea,” said Kevin Gant, a Dover truck driver. “It’s part of our history.”

Beside him, retired police officer Roger Hollopeter wanted more. “I actually think that they should bring back the whipping post,” he said. In fact, Delaware Senate Majority Leader Thomas Sharp (D) has repeatedly introduced legislation that would return lashing, outlawed in 1972, for some drug offenses.

“No fewer than five and no more than 40 lashes, well laid on” was the penalty prescribed in his first bill, which a colleague said would validate outsiders’ impression of Delaware as “a little quaint and a little strange.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/01/26/an-execution-in-the-old-way/0fbf3f86-9ecd-4457-bb37-87ffd74018e6/

Willie Sullivan Executed For Maurice Dodd Murder

Willie Sullivan was executed by the State of Delaware for the murder of Maurice Dodd

According to court documents Willie Sullivan would go to his former place of employment and lure Maurice Dodd into a greenhouse and would beat and stab the man to death

Willie Sullivan would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Willie Sullivan would be executed by lethal injection on September 24 1999

Willie Sullivan Case

The homicide victim, Maurice W. Dodd (“Dodd”), was 78 years old at the time of his death. Dodd resided in a house trailer in Frederica, Delaware. On the same premises he operated a small nursery, “Dodd’s Nursery and Flower Garden.”

Sullivan confessed to the killing of Dodd, after being advised of and waiving his Miranda[2] rights. Sullivan’s confession was in the form of a statement given to Sergeant Michael L. Warrington of the Delaware State Police. According to Sullivan, his motive for the killing was that he “needed some money.”

The record reflects the occurrence of the following events. Sullivan and Lenny Harrison (“Harrison”) had planned to kill Maurice Dodd and steal money from him. In his statement to the police, Sullivan acknowledged that he had begun to think about killing Dodd for his money in the summer of 1991, while he was working for Dodd. The plan was for Harrison to lure Dodd into one of the greenhouses on the pretext of buying flowers. Once Dodd was inside, Sullivan was supposed to kill him.

The plan was partially carried out twice. First, on December 13, 1991, Harrison and Sullivan went to Dodd’s property and proceeded with their plan up to the point in time when Sullivan was supposed to kill Dodd. Sullivan then became frightened. He and Harrison both fled. Second, on December 24, 1991, Sullivan went to Dodd’s home alone to kill and rob him. Once again, however, Sullivan abandoned that idea.

On December 27, 1991, after being driven to Frederica by his sister, Sullivan went to Harrison’s home to obtain his help in carrying out their original plan. When he could not find Harrison, Sullivan walked to Dodd’s house alone, arriving at about 6:30 p.m. Sullivan was armed with a kitchen knife, which was concealed in his jacket.

Upon arrival, Sullivan asked Dodd if he had any flowers for sale. Dodd told Sullivan to go to one of the greenhouses and wait for him. When Dodd came through the door to the greenhouse a few minutes later, Sullivan attacked him from behind, stabbing him with the knife. Dodd attempted to escape from the greenhouse. Sullivan dragged him back inside and stabbed Dodd several more times.

Sullivan inflicted a total of ten knife wounds upon Dodd’s face, chest, back, right *936 arm, and right hand. Sullivan then picked up a metal ice scoop and struck Dodd repeatedly on his head until the scoop broke into pieces. Finally, with Dodd collapsed on the ground and groaning, Sullivan lifted up a large concrete block and threw it down upon him.

Dodd soon died. Sullivan removed a wallet from Dodd’s pocket. It contained $283. Sullivan then went inside and threw the kitchen knife behind the greenhouses. After checking to make certain that Dodd was dead, Sullivan put a cement block in front of the greenhouse door.

Sullivan then went back into Dodd’s house. Sullivan ransacked the bedroom, looking for more money. He was only able to find some rolls of change, totalling about $64, and a set of car keys. Sullivan took the keys and fled in Dodd’s automobile.

Over the next several days, Sullivan drove his friends to local shopping malls in the stolen automobile. Sullivan purchased basketball sneakers, two cassette tapes, a portable tape player, headphones, and a hat with the proceeds of the robbery. He also gave various amounts of money to his friends and family. By New Year’s Day, all of the money that Sullivan had taken from Dodd was gone. Sullivan eventually abandoned the stolen automobile in the parking lot of Kent General Hospital in Dover.

Three days after the murder, concerned neighbors found Dodd’s body in the greenhouse. Sullivan had told several friends, including Harrison, that he had killed Dodd. Information implicating Sullivan in Dodd’s death and the other crimes committed at the nursery soon reached the Delaware State Police. Sullivan was arrested on January 3, 1992.

Sullivan pled guilty to the charge of Murder in the First Degree and other offenses on December 2, 1992. A penalty hearing was scheduled. Beginning on December 7, 1992 and ending on December 9, 1992, a jury heard evidence to determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed

https://law.justia.com/cases/delaware/supreme-court/1994/636-a-2d-931-5.html

David Lawrie Executed For 4 Delaware Murders

David Lawrie was executed by the State of Delaware for four murders

According to court documents David Lawrie was upset when he wife filed for divorce. Lawrie would go over to the home and fatally stab his estranged wife Michelle Lawrie and would douse the home in gasoline and set the home on fire killing three children: 4-year-old Fawn and 2-year-old Tabitha, and a friend’s child, 3-year-old Charles Humbertson.

David Lawrie would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

David Lawrie would be executed by lethal injection on April 23 1999

David Lawrie Case

In this case we review the sentences of death imposed on July 8, 1993, by the Superior Court on David J. Lawrie (“Lawrie”) for the first degree felony murders of Fawn and Tabitha Lawrie, two of the three children of Lawrie and Lawrie’s wife, Michelle Lawrie (“Michelle”), and a four-year-old neighborhood boy, Charles Humbertson.[1]

Lawrie deliberately set fire to the house where the victims and a survivor of the fire (Lisa Humbertson, another neighborhood child) were staying. He was charged with several counts of murder in the first degree: the intentional murder of Michelle, and the felony murders of Fawn, Tabitha, and Charles Humbertson. The felony murder counts were based on 11 Del.C. § 636(a)(2), which provides that a person is guilty of first *1339 degree murder if “[i]n the course of … a felony … he recklessly causes the death of another person.” The jury convicted Lawrie of the first degree felony murders of his two daughters and Charles Humbertson. The jury acquitted Lawrie of the intentional first degree murder of Michelle, but convicted him of the second degree murder of Michelle.[2]

https://law.justia.com/cases/delaware/supreme-court/1994/282-1993-1.html

James Red Dog Executed For Hugh Pennington Murder

James Red Dog was executed by the State of Delaware for the murder of Hugh Pennington

According to court documents James Red Dog was nineteen when he would murder a man during a robbery in 1973. In 1977 while on a furlough from prison he would escape and later murder two more men in Los Angeles. While in prison Red Dog would murder a fellow inmate. Somehow prison officials were able to get a deal with Red Dog that saw him cooperating and being placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program

James Red Dog would be sent to Delaware where eight months later he would murder Hugh Pennington over a slight

James Red Dog would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

James Red Dog would be executed by lethal injection on March 3 1993

James Red Dog Photos

james red dog delaware execution

James Red Dog FAQ

When Was James Red Dog Executed

James Red Dog was executed on March 3 1993

James Red Dog Case

James Allen Red Dog, a five-time killer who said he wanted to be a martyr to the American Indian movement, died defiant Wednesday after being given a lethal injection in Delaware’s execution chamber.

Red Dog, 39, was pronounced dead at 10:28 a.m. by Warden Roy Snyder.

Before entering the death chamber, the Lakota Sioux joined in a spiritual ceremony with his Sioux adviser, John Mosette. In a final statement, Red Dog thanked his family and friends, especially his public defender Edward Pankowski Jr., for their support and kindness and then said to the remaining witnesses, ‘As for the rest of you, you all can kiss my ass.’

Red Dog pleaded no contest in 1992 to slitting the throat of motel accountant Hugh Pennington in February 1991 at the victim’s suburban Wilmington, Del. home. Red Dog had been jailed for four killings in other states but at the time of the Delaware killing was on parole and in the federal witness protection program.

He was the second person to be executed by Delaware since it reinstated the death penalty in 1992. Stephen Pennell was executed by lethal injection in March 1992 for the murder of five prostitutes. The last execution before that was in 1946, by hanging.

As the injection began to take effect, Red Dog choked briefly then said to his wife, Bonnie Red Dog, who was with Pankowski and Mosette in the witness chamber, ‘I’m going home, babe.’

According to media witnesses, she responded, ‘I know, I know. I love you. I’ll be there soon.’

Then they mouthed ‘I love you’ until he lapsed into a coma. A few minutes later the color drained from Red Dog’s face and the curtains to the death chamber were drawn.

Pankowski said attempts to halt the execution late Tuesday were called off at Red Dog’s request. A spiritual adviser of the Sioux who had tried to counsel Red Dog to fight the execution was not at the prison when he died.

Charles Thunderhawk Lone Wolf, a representative of Dr. Arrol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Sioux nation, had said their position was Red Dog would not die as a martyr but would be committing suicide. Lone Wolf had denounced Mosette as a fraud at a prayer vigil in Wilmington Tuesday.

About two dozen demonstrators, among them a handful of Indians, protested the execution.

The Rev. William C. Lawler, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Delaware Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty, said their protest, while symbolic, ‘may raise the consciousness of the futility of the death penalty. It’s awful — as if killing one more person will help.’

Red Dog is expected to be buried on the reservation where he was born and raised near Poplar, Mont.

An 11th grade dropout who was discharged from the Marines after a barfight, Red Dog was sentenced to prison in 1973 for robbing and killing a pizza parlor owner. He committed two more killings during an escape that ended in recapture after a few months.

In 1983, while an inmate in the federal prison in Marion, Ill., Red Dog supplied drugs to a gang that used them to kill another prisoner. His cooperation with investigators won him parole in 1989, and he was placed in the witness protection program in Wilmington.

However, for security reasons, federal officials did not tell local authorities that Red Dog was in the area.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/03/03/Delaware-executes-five-time-killer-James-Allen-Red-Dog/8000731134800/

Dwayne Weeks Executed For 2 Delaware Murders

Dwayne Weeks was executed by the State of Delaware for a double murder

According to court documents Dwayne Weeks and an accomplice would go to the home where his estrange wife was staying and would murder her and her boyfriend: Gwendolyn Weeks and Craig Williams

Dwayne Weeks would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Dwayne Weeks would be executed by lethal injection on November 17 2000

Dwayne Weeks Photos

Dwayne Weeks - Delaware execution

Dwayne Weeks FAQ

Dwayne Weeks Case

Dwayne Weeks died 1230 a.m. Friday from lethal injection in the Delaware Correctional Center. Weeks was convicted of murdering his estranged wife Gwendolyn Weeks and her boyfriend Craig Williams in 1992.

Before midnight on Friday, about 100 protesters gathered outside the prison gates, praying, waving signs and ringing bells to show they disagreed with capital punishment. “It think it is important that each time we kill in the name of justice, we kill in the name of all the citizens in our state,” said Kevin O’Connell of Delaware Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty. “Our presence shows a number of citizens don’t believe in what’s going to happen tonight.” Meanwhile, inside the prison walls, print and broadcast media, prison officials and other witnesses gathered in Building 26, recently built by the Delaware Correctional Center for the sole purpose of housing executions. Weeks’ death was the first to take place in the building. Witnesses peered through glass panes separating them from the white-clad body on the gurney. They waited for Dwayne Weeks to die. Rena Mack stood among the witnesses. Mack, the sister of Gwendolyn Weeks, watched as her sister’s killer spoke his final words. Weeks glanced at the crowd through the windows on his left and right. Then he fixed his eyes on the ceiling. “Over eight years ago, I asked the Lord into my life and make me a new creature in here,” he said. “I say to all who hear my voice: I hope and pray that you, too, ask the Lord to come into your heart and that you are saved.” Moments after Weeks made his statement, he gasped audibly. Ninety-two seconds later, his diaphragm stilled and his eyes narrowed. Two minutes and 32 seconds later, the curtains were pulled and Dwayne Weeks was pronounced dead. Outside, the protesters, who had not yet received word of Weeks’ death, continued with their demonstrations for another half an hour.

Around 12:45 a.m., a representative from the Delaware Department of Corrections arrived to inform the crowd that Weeks had been put to death. The protesters remained outside the prison. Standing in the rain, the crowd sang hymns of hope and mourning for the life that had ended during their vigil. Weeks was the 11th person executed in Delaware since 1992, when convicted serial killer Steven Pennell received lethal injection. In 1986, the General Assembly passed a statute making lethal injection the only legal method of capital punishment. Before Pennell, no one had received the death penalty in the state of Delaware since 1946. Weeks received the death penalty for breaking into his wife’s Wilmington apartment and fatally shooting her and Williams through the head while she made a 911 call. Weeks’ attorneys had appealed his sentence to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. They claimed Weeks had ineffective assistance of counsel. He claimed he pleaded guilty believing he would receive a lighter sentence. However, he said, his lawyers had failed to inform him that he could still receive the death penalty. After considering the aggravating circumstances of the crime, the jury recommended and the judge sentenced Weeks to receive the death penalty. Weeks’ lawyers also appealed because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the jury must unanimously vote to seek death in a capital case. In Delaware, the decision for capital punishment does not have to be unanimous. In a statement to the media after the execution, Mack said she felt a sense of closure. “This has been a long eight years for my family,” she said. “A lot of unnecessary pain.”

http://www.review.udel.edu/archive/2000_Issues/11.21.00/index.php3?section=1&article=2