Gary Gilmore

Gary Mark Gilmore (December 4, 1940 – January 17, 1977) was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding that his death sentence be carried out for two murders he committed in Utah. Due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States, Gilmore was the first person executed in the United States after ten years during which no executions were carried out in the country. Gilmore is also the last person in the United States to request to be executed by firing squad and have their request granted (meaning the combination of the two; other people have requested to be executed by firing squad in the United States since then).

Immediately before his execution, Gilmore observed the Last Rites with a Catholic priest; he had converted to the Catholic Church.