William Paul Thompson

Background

William Paul Thompson was a multiple killer and career criminal.

The offence

Thompson was sentenced to die for the 1984 killing of Randy Waldron, a 28-year-old drifter, in Reno.

After that sentence, Thompson was convicted of killing two brothers who were camping near Auburn, Calif. Thompson said Randy Waldron “just got in my way” while he was on the run from the killings of the brothers. Thompson said he shot the brothers because they were drug informers.

Thompson also said he killed three other men, including a Federal prosecutor in Oklahoma in 1983 whom he said he was paid to murder. In Tulsa, United States Attorney Tony Graham said he was not aware of any prosecutor in the state who had disappeared or was killed in 1983. Graham said he did not intend to investigate Thompson’s claim.

Thompson said the other murders were in New York and in Kansas, but he would not name the victims. The article stated that Thompson asked for forgiveness from his family and from families of three and possibly six murder victims.

Investigation

United States Attorney Tony Graham said he was not aware of any prosecutor in Oklahoma who had disappeared or was killed in 1983, and said he did not intend to investigate Thompson’s claim.

Trial

Thompson was sentenced to die for the 1984 killing of Randy Waldron in Reno.

After that sentence, he was convicted of killing two brothers who were camping near Auburn, Calif.

Sentencing

Thompson was sentenced to die.

Outcome

Thompson asked to “die with dignity” and was executed by lethal injection at 2:01 A.M. in Nevada. He was pronounced dead eight minutes later.

The prison warden, Pete Demosthenes, said Thompson’s last words when guards closed the death chamber door were, “Thank you for letting me die with dignity.”

The article stated that Thompson was the third person to be put to death in Nevada and the 112th to be executed in the United States since the Supreme Court allowed reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The article also stated that seven other convicted murderers had been executed so far that year.

Thompson spoke briefly with the five guards who helped to hoist him onto a gurney in the prison's old gas chamber, where lethal injections were administered, while 25 witnesses and reporters watched.

In the only interview he granted, Thompson told The Associated Press on Saturday that he had recently found religion and was “paying back to society the only thing I have to offer it.”

Other details

Thompson was 52 years old and weighed 300 pounds.