o Born in Waco, Texas on December 4, 1940 o Father was an abusive alcoholic o Mother said he was the illegitimate son of Harry Houdini. This is most likely not true however, his father believed it. o Parents moved around Western United States until 1952, when the whole family settled in Portland, Oregon o Showed signs of artistic talent o Dropped out of high school at age 14, despite having an I.Q. of 133 o Ran away from home with a friend, after dropping out, to see his place of birth in Texas. A few months later, he returned home. o Early offenses included shoplifting, car theft, and assault and battery (unlawful and unpermitted touching of another) o Was arrested for the first time as a teenager and while in prison, became violent and tried to commit suicide.

o Age 14 (around 1954): Started small car theft ring with friends, which led to his first arrest. He was released to his father with a warning o Two weeks later: He was arrested for another car theft and sent to Oregon’s McLaren Reform School for Boys and released the following year o 1960: Gilmore was sent to Oregon State Correctional Institution on arrest for another car theft and was released later that year. o 1962: He was arrested and sent to Oregon State Penitentiary for armed robbery and assault o 1964: He received a 15 year sentence as a habitual offender (person convicted of a new crime who was previously convicted of a crime) the second time. o 1972: he was released to live in a halfway house, in Eugene, Oregon, but was soon arrested for armed robbery and because of his violent behavior, was sent to a prison in Marion, Illinois. o 1976: He received conditional parole (conditional release of a person convicted of a crime prior to the expiration of that person’s term of imprisonment), and went back to Utah to live with his cousin, where he soon retuned to his previous lifestyle of stealing, drinking, and fighting.

GUILTY o July 19, 1976: Gilmore robbed and murdered a man who worked for Sinclair (a gas station) named Max Jensen in Orem, Utah o July 20, 1976: He robbed and murdered a hotel manager named Bennie Bushnell in Provo, Utah o While Gimore was throwing away the.22 caliber pistol he used in both killings, he accidentally shot himself in the hand, and left a trail of blood back to the service garage where he left his truck to be repaired, soon after murdering Bushnell. The garage owner saw the blood and had heard about the shooting at the motel nearby so, he wrote down Gilmore’s license plate number and called the police. Also, Gilmore's cousinturned him in to the police after he called her asking for bandages and painkillers for his hand. Gilmore gave up without a fight while he was trying to drive out of Provo, Utah. He was charged with the murders of Bushnell and Jensen, but Jensen’s case never went to trial because there were no eyewitnesses. *a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or on an inquest

Evidence o An eyewitness who was able to place him near the Bushnell murder with the cash box and gun in his hand, which he shot himself with. o He had a collection of stolen guns. o Also, he confessed what he did to a cop and later on, his cousin. o An FBI ballistics expert was able to match two spent cartridges and the bullet found in Bushnell to the gun left in the bush a gun was found in, and a patrolman traced Gilmore's trail of blood (from shooting himself in the hand) to that same bush

o October 7, 1976: the jury retired (left the court room and went to a different room to consider and talk about the case and reach a verdict*). By mid-day, they concluded that Gilmore was guilty, and later on in the day, unanimously recommended the death penalty. Gilmore chose to be killed by a firing squad. The execution date was set for November 15, o Gilmore received several stays of execution (a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order) due to the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Gilmore’s new execution date was set for January 17, The ACLU tried to give Gilmore another stay of execution, but it was overturned on the morning of the 17th, and the execution was allowed to proceed. While Gilmore was on death, he tried to commit suicide twice, the first was on November 16 because of the first stay issued, and the second was one month later. o Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad on January 17, 1977, at 8:07 a.m. o His last meal was steak, potatoes, milk, and coffee, and his last words were “Let’s do it!” *a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or on an inquest

Differential-Association Theory The Differential-Association Theory states that criminal behavior is learned through interaction with others. This theory can explain why Gilmore committed so many crimes, and how it ultimately led to his death. As a kid, Gilmore lived with an abusive alcoholic as his father. Through his father’s violent actions, Gilmore learned that violence was the ultimate solution to his problems. In addition to this, Gilmore committed many minor crimes before he was actually arrested. Because Gilmore was never arrested for these minor crimes, he was never taught that they were actually wrong. This led him to keep up his actions and even form a group of friends to do it with him, implying that this was a fun way to kill time. When Gilmore was eventually arrested for the crimes he continuously committed, he was taken away and put somewhere else. This meant that he wasn’t at home with his abusive father. That probably taught him that being arrested and was a kind of reward rather than a punishment, which led him to commit crimes over and over again. Also, while Gilmore was in the multiple institutions and prisons he was sent to for his crimes, he was in contact with other kids and prisoners that had done far worse things than him. After spending time with these other criminals, he was bound to learn new tips and tricks to not get caught and was most likely praised for the crimes he did commit. As a teen, this appraisal and information made criminal activities seem even more like a good thing, rather than something to be looked down on. All of these different interactions and, what even seemed to be rewards by higher figures, i.e., police officers, led Gary Gilmore to a consistent life of crime that eventually drove him to the crime of killing, which in turn, ended up killing him.

The Executioner’s Song is a book written by Norman Mailer that tells the story of Gary Gilmore as a violent product of America’s prisons who became notorious because he robbed and killed two men, and then insisted that he die for the crime he committed.