Billy Bailey became the third person to be hanged in America since the resumption of executions in 1977 (the other two were Charles Campbell and Westley Allan Dodd, both in Washington State). Bailey was 49 years old, balding, wore glasses, and had been on death row for 16 years.
Background
Bailey was born the 19th of 23 children. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his stepmother reportedly beat him and called him worthless, according to records from social workers. At age 12, he was described as “a seriously disturbed child who needs professional help.” It was argued, however, that Bailey received such help through institutions and from the foster family he turned to for support.
He was sentenced to death in 1980, at the age of 33, for the shooting of an elderly farming couple, Clara and Gilbert Lambertson. After robbing a liquor store, he hitched a ride from his foster sister’s house and asked to be dropped off at the Lambertsons’ farm. There, apparently intending to steal their pickup truck, he shot them, arranged their bodies in chairs, and fled on foot to nearby woods, where he was captured by a state trooper.
Asked why he committed the murders, Bailey said:
“I don’t really know. I just know that I feel bad about it. It hurts sometimes when I think about it. When I say hurt, I think about the Lambertsons and how much they hate me and I start to cry, and sometimes I cry myself to sleep at night.”
Members of the victims’ family were not moved. Bailey said he did not remember the killings because he was drunk and high on Valium at the time.
Delaware, along with many other states, moved to lethal injection in 1986. However, Bailey and two other men had been sentenced before this change. All three were given the choice of lethal injection. One, William Flamer (executed on January 30, 1996), opted for it. The third, James Riley, was later removed from death row.
Bailey told the state Pardons Board at a clemency hearing:
“I feel the law sentenced me to hang, and I should hang. I don’t want to, but that was the law.”
Preparations
Delaware had not carried out a hanging in 50 years, so they sought advice from corrections officials at Walla Walla Prison in Washington State, the only other state to have conducted hangings.
The wooden gallows had been constructed in the grounds of the Delaware Correctional Center at Smyrna in 1986, as Bailey’s initial execution date approached. It was an elaborate structure, complete with a roof, and required renovation and strengthening before it could be used. The platform, housing the trapdoor, stood 15 feet above the ground and was accessed by 23 steps.
Delaware used an execution protocol written by Fred Leuchter. It specified:
- 30 feet of ¾ inch diameter Manila hemp rope, boiled to remove stretch and coiling
- Lubrication of the knot area with melted paraffin for smooth sliding
- A black hood to cover the prisoner’s head
- A sandbag to test the trapdoor
- A “collapse board” for strapping the prisoner if necessary
Bailey was moved from his cell to a caravan near the gallows, where he spent his last 24 hours sleeping, eating, watching television, speaking with staff, and visiting with his sister Betty Odom (53), the prison chaplain, and his attorney.
For his final meal, he requested:
- A well-done steak
- A baked potato with sour cream and butter
- Buttered rolls
- Peas
- Vanilla ice cream
The Hanging
A few minutes before midnight, Bailey was led into the yard, which was surrounded by prison guards and dogs. His glasses had been removed. He wore a prison-issue blue denim coat draped over his shoulders, with the top two buttons fastened to keep it from blowing off. His arms were fastened at his sides.
As is customary, a direct telephone line to the Delaware Governor remained open until the last minute in case of a reprieve.
Two guards, dressed in black jumpsuits and black hoods secured with baseball caps, escorted Bailey—who weighed 220 lbs—up the steps to the gallows platform. There, he stood beside the swaying six-coil noose while approximately 40 witnesses entered the compound.
Bailey stood expressionless, flanked by the guards for nearly five minutes. One faced forward, holding Bailey’s left arm; the other stood with his back to the witnesses, gripping Bailey’s shoulder. Warden Robert Snyder, who acted as hangman, stood further to the right.
Once the witnesses were in place, Bailey was led onto the trap. A nylon webbing strap was fastened around his ankles, and a black hood was pulled down over his head and chest. The noose was placed over the hood. Snyder checked the hood several times to ensure the knot was properly positioned beneath Bailey’s left ear.
Snyder asked Bailey if he had any last words. Bailey replied quietly, and when Snyder asked, “Pardon?” he responded more clearly: “No sir.”
Bailey calmly stood on the trap and was seen to squeeze his right fist into a tight ball. At 12:04 a.m., Snyder, using both hands, pulled the gray wooden lever. The trapdoor opened with a loud bang. Five feet of Manila rope followed Bailey through the hole, and his body jerked to a halt 10 feet above the ground.
According to one witness, Bailey’s body appeared like a rag doll, with his head twisted sharply to one side. His body spun counterclockwise six times, then once in the opposite direction. A canvas tarp was released to conceal the body, leaving only his dangling feet in white tennis shoes visible.
He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 12:15 a.m. EST (5:15 GMT), by a doctor.
Reactions and Aftermath
Gail Stallings, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, later told reporters that the execution occurred “without complication.”
Dr. Willie C. Blair, an independent trauma surgeon, explained that 11 minutes was not unusual for the pulse to stop after the spinal cord is severed:
“The heart beats on its own. That’s why we can transplant them.”
Edmund Lyons, Bailey’s attorney, commented:
“I found the process medieval and barbaric.”
Saxton Lambertson, 68, one of the victims’ two sons who witnessed the execution (along with seven reporters and 12 official witnesses), said:
“My parents were very innocent people. They were old and small, and he was a big brute. He chose to shoot them, so he chose to die.”
Chris Lambertson, 20, the victims’ great-grandson, waited outside the prison and stated afterward:
“I’m out here to see that justice is served. Just because Billy Bailey wanted their truck, he killed my great-grandparents. Without a doubt, he should die.”
Roughly 150 demonstrators—both for and against the death penalty—had gathered outside the prison.
Bailey’s execution marked Delaware’s first hanging in 50 years. From 1904 to May 1946, only 25 other people (including three women) had been hanged in the state. Public executions were the norm until 1935.
Comment
The only thing that seems wrong about this execution is the date. One feels it should have been 1896. It seemed more like a hanging from an old cowboy film.
Although Bailey’s death was accomplished without any apparent suffering, no effort was made to spare his feelings or hasten the process. This was the last hanging in Delaware; the authorities have since dismantled the gallows.
Support the Archive
If you have found this article useful and would like to help preserve and maintain this historical archive, please consider supporting the site.