On this day - 25 January

Billy Bailey was a convicted murder and had been found guilty of the murder of couple Gilbert and Clara Lambertson. He was sentenced to death and chose hanging over lethal injection. In order for this to occur, the prison had to construct a set of gallows. He was hanged on January 25th 1996. As of 2003, none of the inmates of death row in Delaware were eligible to make this same choice, so the gallows were dismantled. He remains the last prisoner to have been lawfully hanged in the US.

Want to read more about this event and numerous other events from history? A subscription allows you unlimited access to continue reading and to view pages in greater detail. Log in and look at our online shop for prices.

Check back every day to see a different event from history highlighted.