Why did a convicted murderer fight to ensure his own execution by firing squad?

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Gary Gilmore became a household name in 1977, not just for his crimes, but for his relentless demand to die. By refusing to appeal his death sentence, he ended a decade-long national moratorium on capital punishment, transforming himself from a violent criminal into a polarizing symbol of the American justice system.

Born in 1940 to a transient, abusive con man, Gary Gilmore spent much of his life cycling through reform schools and prisons. Despite possessing high intelligence and artistic talent, he struggled with severe behavioral issues and antisocial personality disorder. After a 1976 parole, he moved to Provo, Utah, but quickly descended into a violent spree, murdering two men in separate robberies within two days. He was captured after accidentally shooting his own hand and seeking help from a relative who alerted the police.

Following his conviction for the murder of Ben Bushnell, Gilmore shocked the legal establishment by rejecting all efforts to commute his sentence. While the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups attempted to intervene on behalf of death row inmates nationwide, Gilmore actively fought to expedite his death. He went on hunger strikes and attempted suicide twice, eventually firing his own lawyers to ensure the state followed through with his execution. His defiance culminated in his final words to the firing squad: "Let's do it."

Gilmore’s execution in January 1977 was a watershed moment in American jurisprudence, marking the first time capital punishment was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. His story became a cultural touchstone, immortalized in Norman Mailer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Executioner's Song. While his death did not trigger an immediate surge in executions, it set a precedent that would eventually lead to over 1,400 executions in the following four decades, forever altering the landscape of the American death penalty.

The case remains significant for the way it pitted the state's power against an individual's agency. By choosing the firing squad—a rare method of execution—Gilmore forced the legal system to confront the reality of the death penalty. His brother, Mikal Gilmore, later provided a more intimate look at the family’s cycle of abuse and instability in his memoir, Shot in the Heart, highlighting the tragic trajectory of a life defined by violence and a final, desperate assertion of control.

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