A man who murdered an elderly couple 17 years ago went to the gallows early Thursday, the nation's third execution by hanging since 1965.
Billy Bailey stood in the cold wind and grimaced after climbing the steps to the wooden structure. He occasionally glanced at the witnesses 15 feet below, including the victims' two sons, as the hangman's noose swung gently back and forth.He closed his eyes, sniffled and said nothing before the black hood was placed over his head, followed by the noose. At 12:04 a.m., the warden pulled a lever, the trap door opened and Bailey dropped.
His body twisted quickly in the wind, then turned slowly beneath the platform. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later.
"I think it's really past time this should have come about. It's been too many years," said Mary Ann Lambertson, a daughter-in-law of the victims.
"I happened to be the poor soul who found the bodies, and it was a gruesome sight."
Dennis Lambertson, a grandson of the victims, said he went to the prison to "see justice done." Delbert and Saxton Lambertson, the victim's sons, made no public comment.
It was the first time Delaware allowed victims' family members to witness an execution. The hanging was the state's first in 50 years.
Bailey's sister Betty Odom and foster sister, Sue Coker, were several miles away at the Department of Correction headquarters in Smyrna. When they were told Bailey was dead, Coker said her first thought was, "They'll leave him alone now."