Lancaster New Era from Lancaster, Pennsylvania • 2

LANCASTER, NEW ERA SERIAL KILLER EXECUTED A-2 TUESDAY, MAY 1 0, 1 994 ir of 33 is executed by srsjjecHoonii Gacy convicted in 1 980 of murdering men, boys, burying bodies under home His lawyers had argued that lethal injection was developed with Nazi research data and that Illinois previous execution by injection was botched and resulted in the prisoner being tortured to death. The state denied that. Gacys fate was sealed late in the day when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt his execution. Earlier, a federal appeals court rejected Gacys appeal.

Corrections Department spokesman Nic Howell strolled through the prison yard with Gacy hours before the execution. The two smoked cigars as Gacy reflected on his life. dence used to obtain the search warrant that led to the discovery of the bodies. In more than a decade on death row Gacy recanted his confession, denying all but one of the killings, and wrote rambling letters blaming his conviction on political conspiracies. Fourteen years of appeals held up the execution.

Gacy was the first person executed against his will in Illinois since 1962. Another condemned man, Charles Walker, dropped his appeals and won the right to have his execution carried out in 1990. Gacys lawyers spent Monday in a last round of frenzied appeals. him, said state Corrections Director Howard Peters. He got a much easier death than any of his victims, said William Kunkle, who prosecuted Gacy and witnessed the execution at the maximum-security Stateville Correctional Center.

Gacy confessed to strangling 33 young men and boys he had picked up for sex, and he was convicted of the murders 1980. With the help of a map Gacy drew for police, 27 of the bodies were found the crawl space under Gacys ranch-style home outside Chicago. Two bodies were found elsewhere on his property, and four were pulled from the Des Plaines River. To the end, Gacy was a cipher For nearly six years, from 1972 to 1978, he methodically killed his victims as he lived an outgoing, seemingly normal life as a successful remodeling contractor, Democratic precinct captain and amateur clown named Pogo. W'hile Gacy was under surveillance in 1978 in connection with the disappearance of a 15-year-old boy, he invited the officers watching him into his house for dinner.

While using the bathroom, one of the officers caught a scent like rotting flesh coming from a heating duct. That was part of the evi JOLIET, III. (AP) John Wayne Gacy was executed by injection early today, more than 15 years after the stench of bodies buried in the crawl space under his home gave police the break that led to ms conviction 33 sex murders. Gacy, 52, was pronounced dead at 12.58 a 18 minutes after two anonymous executioners tripped switches to send the chemicals into his bloodstream. The procedure was delayed by a clog in the tubing His last words were that taking his life would not compensate for the loss of the others and that this was the state murdering John Wayne Gacy Did he apologize for anything? Not a thing, Howell said.

Gacy grunts once before he dies hooked to an intravenous line leading to a silver metal box on the wall. He was strapped to the gurney at the ankles, wrists, chest and hips. His huge belly protruded between the straps. It was quiet in the viewing room throughout the execution save for the sound of pencils scratching on notebooks and an occasional whisper. At 12:40 a.m., Gacy closed his eyes as Godinez picked up a red phone, signaling to the two executioners to begin releasing the drugs.

Gacy swallowed. Then a thump was heard from the box on the wall, signaling the release of the first drug, an anesthetic to 1 render Gacy unconscious. He grunted, his belly heaved and he lay still. There were no further signs of life. Corrections spokesman Nic Howell said the anesthetic was administered in a large enough dose to kill Gacy.

But the procedure involved administering two other drugs. They followed in short succession, and the curtains were drawn five minutes later. Witnesses could see shapes moving behind the curtain. Someone opened the metal box on the wall. Witnesses learned later that the second drug had clogged in the intravenous line, forcing officials to run another tube.

The curtains opened again at 12:53 am. Gacy looked ashen. Peters and Godinez were by his side, looking at him closely. The curtains closed again at 12.56. A doctor pronounced him dead at 12:58.

Howell said Gacy had told him earlier in the day that his last words were going to be Kiss my ass. He chose to be less profane, saying that taking his life would not compensate for the loss of the others and that this was the state murdering him, Peters said. EDITORS NOTE Associated Press reporter Lindsey Tanner was one of 12 reporters who witnessed John Wayne Gacys execution. Here is what she saw. JOLIET, 111.

(AP) John Wayne Gacy took his last breath in a small, starkly lit execution chamber, grunting once as three chemicals put him to sleep and stopped his lungs and heart. Forty-two people saw Gacy die from a room separated from the execution chamber by a large plate-glass window covered with a beige curtain. The witnesses included 12 reporters as well as prosecutors and investigators involved in Gacys case. As the media witnesses were escorted from an administration building across the prison yard to the execution chamber, yells from a cellblock filled the cool night air. One inmate screamed cryptically, Gacys going to die twice! After the witnesses were seated on plastic chairs in the dmgy witness room with pale yellow brick walls, the curtain to the execution chamber was opened at 12.38 a.m.

Gacy was on his back, strapped to a gurney, about three feet from the window. The gray-haired man lay motionless, eyes open, wearing a blue prison shirt and pants. Department of Corrections Director Howard Peters and Salvidor Godinez, warden of the Stateville Correctional Center, stood two feet from his head. Gacys right forearm was Demonstrators, some wearing No tears for the clown t-shirts, cheer outside the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, as the execution of John Wayne Gacy approached early today. Execution relieves victims' families JOLIET, 111.

(AP) They huddled around a 9-inch TV set in the prison basement, awaiting word that John Wayne Gacy had been put to death. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters 23 relatives of Gacys 33 young victims had come to see his execution and maybe gam some solace from their shared grief. A phone call brought the news shortly before 1 a.m. There was relief, but there were no cheers or joy. Instead, there were painful memories and tears.

Everybody has lost today, said Kari Cahoon, sister of victim Rick Johnston. We lost our relatives. His family lost their father. He lost his life. Theres a lot of losing going around, but hopefully we can finally call it over.

We were victims here, too, said Tim Nieder, brother of John Mowery. I feel like justice has finally been served, but its been a long time in the making. Gacys victims included male prostitutes and street kids he picked up for sex, as well as youths he hired his remodeling business. The slayings spanned more than five years, but Gacy wasnt arrested until he came under suspicion in the death of Rob Piest, a 15-year-old to whom Gacy had offered a $5-an-hour construction job. The weight is definitely off my shoulders now that hes gone, said Eugenia Godzik, sister of Greg Godzik.

Im glad he gone, but its never really over. I dont have anybody left. My brother is gone and the whole incident really is what killed my parents. Reads Don't miss the The New Era uses recyclable no-smearing, no-lead ink. It doesnt get on your hands.

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