Capital punishment returns to U.S. as Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 17 1977)


Video: 'Gary Gilmore - A beaten child gone mad - documentary - Top Biographies & Documentaries'

(Monday, January 17, 1977, 8:07 a.m. MST) — The 10-year suspension of capital punishment in the United States ended today when four .30-caliber bullets ripped through the chest of convicted killer Gary Gilmore, 36, at Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah.

Gilmore had robbed and murdered Max Jensen, a gas station employee, on the evening of July 19, 1976, in Orem, Utah. The next evening, he robbed and murdered Bennie Bushnell, a motel manager in Provo.