Murderer Executed By Hanging In Gallows

Billy Bailey, the 49-year-old murderer of an elderly couple, climbed up onto a wooden gallows outdoors and was hanged early Thursday, becoming only the third convict to be executed this way since 1965.

Bailey, 49, was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m., moments after he climbed the 19 steps to the platform with a trapdoor 15 feet above the ground. The gallows were built on the grounds of the Delaware Correctional Center, 10 years ago as Bailey’s first execution date approached.

Just under 100 demonstrators gathered outside prison, including 20 who supported Bailey’s execution.

Witnesses included Delbert and Saxton Lambertson, two sons of Gilbert and Clara Lambertson, who were murdered with a shotgun at their farmhouse in 1979. Delaware has not previously allowed family members of the victims to witness executions.