Jesse Bishop

Jesse Walter Bishop (March 1, 1933 – October 22, 1979) was convicted of the murder of David Ballard, aged 22.

In 1977, Bishop was in the process of robbing El Morocco Casino, a Las Vegas Strip casino, when he was interrupted by Ballard, who had left his nearby wedding reception to intervene. According to a witness, Bishop shot Ballard "like a dog".^[1]

He voluntarily waived appeals following his conviction and was executed in 1979 by the State of Nevada by gas chamber at the age of 46. He became the first person to be executed in Nevada since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated, and the third person to be executed in the United States since 1976, after Gary Gilmore and John Arthur Spenkelink. He was also the last inmate in Nevada to be executed by the gas chamber. Executions thereafter have been carried out by lethal injection in the same chamber.

After Bishop's execution, prison director Charles Wolff said that Bishop was "like an iceman" and "as tough as nails to the end".^[2]

Bishop had spent twenty years of his life incarcerated for various felony offenses and bragged about having committed an estimated eighteen homicides, most of them drug related.

See also

• Capital punishment in Nevada
• Capital punishment in the United States

References

Sources

• U.S. Executions Since 1976. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
• Riley, Brendan. Nevada executions follow precise procedures. Reno Gazette-Journal (2004-03-21). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
• Ryan, Cy. He says he's ready; will he die tonight?. Las Vegas Sun (2007-10-15). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
• Lenhard v. Wolff, 443 U.S. 1306 (1979)
• United States of America: The illusion of control. Amnesty International (2001-04-24). Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
• Jesse Bishop - A killer smiles at his own execution. London Daily Mail (1979-10-23). Retrieved on 2010-02-06.