Billy Bailey, the last American hanged

DSP Crime Story: Billy Bailey, the last American hanged

January 25th, 1996

Case handled by DSP Troop 3, Camden

On this date in 1996,  Billy Bailey was hanged for murdering an elderly couple in Delaware.

Billy Bailey  (January 1947 - January 25, 1996, Age 49) was a convicted  murderer  who was  hanged  in  Delaware  in 1996.  He became only the third person to be hanged in the United States since 1965 (the previous two were  Charles Rodman Campbell  and  Westley Allan Dodd , both in  Washington ) and the first person hanged in Delaware in 50 years.  As of 2019, he remains the last person to be executed by hanging in the United States.

Bailey was condemned in 1980, which was before Texas debuted the lethal injection trend that would sweep the nation; therefore, he was sentenced to hang. When Delaware  switched to injection in 1986, Bailey had the choice between his original hempen-necktie sentence or the newfangled gurney.

Authorities  wanted him to get with the times. Warden Robert Snyder, who would also serve as hangman,  told the press, "Our gallows is pretty primitive here. We've made some improvement, but hopefully this will be the last hanging in Delaware."

Billy Bailey wasn't interested.

"I'm not a dog," he said to one visitor. "I'm not going to let them put me to sleep."

For all the  worry that a state out of practice with its gallows technique would botch the job, Delaware  carried it off without embarrassment.

Though Bailey's pretty certain to be the last man hanged in the Blue Hen State - Delaware has gone and dismantled that primitive gallows - he is no lock to keep his place as the last hanged anywhere in the U.S.

Washington state, which  hanged two people in the early 1990's and did some consulting on the procedure for Delaware officials, still allows the condemned a choice between lethal injection and hanging. Executions there aren't common - it's been over eight years as of this writing - but they're not unheard-of. Between  the prospect of a lethal injection botch and the morbid appeal of notching milestone status, it's only a matter of time before someone else opts to hang.

The Crime

In 1979, Bailey was assigned to the Plummer House, a work release facility in  Wilmington, Delaware, but soon escaped. He later appeared at the home of his foster sister, Sue Ann Coker, in  Cheswold, Delaware, 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. 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 1.5 miles (2.4 km) 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 helicopter as he ran across the Lambertsons' field. He attempted to shoot the helicopter co-pilot with the pistol and was later arrested.

The Arrest by Delaware State Police

Arrested by Corporal Tom Robbins #151, Aviation Section, who leaped from the moving helicopter chasing Bailey across the field.  Corporal Sandy Shaner #417, Troop 3, arrived to find Corporal Robbins fighting with Bailey, heard a pistol fire while they struggled and assisted in subduing Bailey.   Investigator Detective Sergeant Bob Collison #122, Troop 3.

The Conviction

Bailey was found guilty of the murders in 1980. After his conviction the jury held that the crimes "were outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman" and recommended the  death penalty . Bailey chose hanging over lethal injection. Therefore, he was sentenced to be hanged by his neck until dead. 

 

The Preparation

Although the method of execution in Delaware had been changed to  lethal injection, he had the 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, where hangings had recently been performed.

The wooden  gallows were built on the grounds of the Delaware Correctional Center at  Smyrna in 1986, prior to a January 9, 1987 execution date for Bailey which was stayed. The structure required renovation and strengthening before Bailey could be executed on it. The platform housing the trap door was 15 feet (4.6 m) from the ground and accessed by 23 steps.

Delaware used an execution protocol written by  Fred Leuchter. This specifies the use of 30 feet (9.1 m) of 0.75-inch (19 mm) 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 220 lb (100 kg), and the drop was determined to be at around 5 feet (1.5 m).

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 by hanging at his request by the state of Delaware on January 25, 1996.

The gallows in Delaware was later dismantled in 2003, because in that year none of its death row inmates remained eligible to choose hanging over lethal injection. Only the state of New Hampshire still permits executions by hanging as of 2019.

Photo Billy Bailey arraignment JP Court 7, Dover, DE

Left to Right: Det. James Brown #333, Billy Bailey, Cpl. Sandy Shaner #417, Troop 3