255:
Salisbury and shot the clerk in the head. The clerk survived the shooting and Thanos stole $ 96. On
September 3, Thanos returned to the gas station and encountered Winebrenner and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Melody Pistorio, who had come to the gas station to keep him company. Winebrenner did not have the watch with him, as he had given it to Pistorio, who had left it at home in her jewelry box. Enraged, Thanos took out his gun and robbed the gas station at gunpoint, demanding Winebrenner fill his bag with cash. The pair handed over all the cash from the register. Thanos then fatally shot each of them twice in the head and fled the store.
267:. He matched the description of a person wanted in a recent armed robbery. The police pulled him over and Thanos stopped his vehicle. As police approached him, Thanos began shooting at them, causing the officers to return fire. No one was hit during the shootout and Thanos drove away. He abandoned his vehicle near some woods and fled on foot towards a highway. He then flagged down a passing motorist and forced his way into the car, taking the motorist hostage and threatening him with a gun. The motorist obeyed Thanos's demands and drove him out of the state. The pair headed into
225:. He was charged for the offense and was sentenced to twenty-one years in prison. At his trial, he threatened the judge, and later attempted to break out of prison in 1971. He succeeded in escaping but was recaptured shortly afterwards. Thanos was released from prison in April 1986, however, he returned only a month later after he committed an armed robbery at a convenience store. He was sentenced to a further eight years in prison. On April 15, 1990, Thanos was accidentally released early due to a mistake by a prison official who was later fired.
293:"their cries bring laughter from the darkest caverns of my soul. I don't believe I could satisfy my thirst yet in this matter unless I was to be able to dig these brats' bones up out of their graves right now and beat them into powder and urinate on them and then stir it into a murky yellowish elixir and serve it up to their loved ones"
232:. In the summer of 1990, he exposed himself to a woman who gave him a ride. The woman charged him for the offense and Thanos feared he would be returned to prison. Thanos would later reveal in a videotaped confession that he embarked on a crime spree because he was worried his parole was going to be revoked.
278:
The officer followed the car into a parking lot and police surrounded the vehicle. The motorist then fled from the car on foot and Thanos began shooting at the police. Three officers returned fire at Thanos and a shootout erupted in the parking lot. Thanos then surrendered after he emptied his gun.
250:
On August 31, Thanos encountered 18-year-old Greg Taylor while hitchhiking. Holding him at gunpoint while in his car, Thanos ordered Taylor to drive to a wooded area along a deserted logging road, where he intended to tie him to a tree. When Taylor refused to comply with his demands, Thanos laid
254:
On
September 1, Thanos arrived at a gas station and traded his father's watch to 16-year-old Billy Winebrenner for $ 20 and some gas. The two made a deal in which Thanos could return to the gas station and pay $ 60 to get the watch back. The following day, Thanos robbed a convenience store in
247:. He sawed the barrel down so he could fit the weapon in a black doctor's bag which he carried around with him. That same night, he robbed a cab driver at gunpoint and forced him into the trunk of the vehicle, threatening to kill him if he refused to comply with his demands.
31:
300:"What he did was reprehensible, that's true... the other thing is he is extremely damaged. He is an extremely damaged human being. And really, in our society we should not kill sick people. He really is a sick person."
811:
192:
who was convicted in 1992 of the murders of three teenagers: Gregory Taylor, Billy
Winebrenner, and Melody Pistorio. He was executed for the murders in 1994, becoming the first person to be executed in
783:
750:
308:
was the only means of execution provided by the state of
Maryland. Thanos agreed to a proposal by a lawyer of another prisoner sentenced to death to have his execution videotaped and his
925:
895:
213:
veteran who severely abused John Thanos and even drugged his wife. Thanos was expelled from school and spent many years in and out of prison for various crimes he committed.
313:
745:
680:
920:
821:
905:
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616:
935:
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778:
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No one was injured in the shootout but several vehicles were hit during the exchange of gunfire. On
September 5, Delaware police turned over Thanos to
251:
Taylor down and murdered him by shooting him in the head three times. He then stole Taylor's car and altered his appearance to look more like him.
900:
359:
398:
930:
915:
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Thanos waived all of his appeals and refused to fight his death sentence after he was convicted and sentenced to death. At that time, death by
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At his trial he taunted the families of his victims, saying he wished he could dig up their bodies and defile their corpses. Thanos stated:
431:
364:
713:
853:
354:
122:
77:
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93:
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execution. He was also the first person to be executed in
Maryland via lethal injection. Thanos was 45 years old; his
312:
data recorded, in an attempt to raise evidence that execution by gas chamber is cruel and unusual, as defined by the
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via lethal injection, becoming the first person to be executed in
Maryland since 1961, and the state's first post-
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587:
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399:"Thanos: violent, venomous -- and 'damaged' 'Sick' convicted killer is product of abuse, lawyer says"
369:
244:
163:
621:
229:
111:
81:
723:
862:
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816:
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222:
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718:
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516:
469:
441:
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206:
58:
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436:
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Upon his release, Thanos went to work as a bricklayer and then as a chicken processor in
665:
598:
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874:
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812:"Word for Word: The Condemned; As Executions Mount, So Do Infamous Last Words"
105:
316:, and thus unconstitutional. The legislature of Maryland responded by making
295:
during his sentencing hearing for the murder of
Winebrenner and Pistorio.
329:
268:
194:
209:
to John Steven and Patty Thanos. Steven was described as a mentally ill
30:
746:"Capital Punishment History – Persons Executed in Maryland since 1923"
372:, a spree killer who engaged in a stand-off in Dundalk, Maryland
784:
Maryland
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
751:
Maryland
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
210:
240:
On August 29, 1990, Thanos quit his job and purchased a
779:"Capital Punishment History – A Historical Perspective"
221:
In October 1969, Thanos assaulted and raped a woman in
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Thanos was executed on May 17, 1994, by the state of
263:
On September 4, Thanos was spotted driving north by
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89:
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40:
21:
681:"Given a Push, Maryland Alters Its Death Penalty"
432:"'Get On With It': Maryland Killer Put to Death"
320:the primary means of execution in January 1994.
188:(March 28, 1949 – May 17, 1994) was an American
926:People executed by Maryland by lethal injection
8:
512:"Thanos: violent, venomous - 'and damaged'"
896:20th-century executions of American people
29:
18:
839:
712:McMenamin, Jennifer (January 26, 2007).
382:
360:Capital punishment in the United States
921:People convicted of murder by Maryland
648:"Md. man to face charges in killings"
7:
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639:
610:
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548:
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505:
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392:
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906:American people executed for murder
891:20th-century executions by Maryland
679:Chartrand, Sabra (March 25, 1994).
646:Murray, Molly (September 6, 1990).
615:Valentine, Paul W. (May 17, 1994).
365:List of people executed in Maryland
298:His attorney later said of Thanos:
936:Violence against women in Maryland
854:Executions carried out in Maryland
14:
911:American people convicted of rape
554:"Unrepentant Thanos put to death"
510:Small, Glenn (October 31, 1993).
397:Small, Glenn (October 31, 1993).
465:"Thanos: Never Far from Trouble"
430:Skowron, Sandra (May 17, 1994).
901:American murderers of children
355:Capital punishment in Maryland
1:
931:People from Dundalk, Maryland
916:Executed people from Maryland
463:Small, Glenn (May 22, 1994).
275:police officer spotted them.
94:Execution by lethal injection
16:American murderer (1949–1994)
810:Kuntz, Tom (July 31, 1994).
149:August 31–September 3, 1990
78:Maryland State Penitentiary
952:
617:"Maryland executes Thanos"
714:"Key death penalty dates"
562:. May 17, 1994. pp.
179:
99:
28:
281:Maryland State Police
186:John Frederick Thanos
139:Billy Winebrenner, 16
45:John Frederick Thanos
370:Joseph C. Palczynski
245:semi-automatic rifle
164:semi-automatic rifle
693:on October 13, 2018
622:The Washington Post
205:Thanos was born in
141:Melody Pistorio, 14
112:First degree murder
90:Cause of death
82:Baltimore, Maryland
863:Flint Gregory Hunt
847:Nathaniel Lipscomb
817:The New York Times
686:The New York Times
223:Rosedale, Maryland
869:
868:
859:Succeeded by
719:The Baltimore Sun
559:The Baltimore Sun
517:The Baltimore Sun
470:The Baltimore Sun
404:The Baltimore Sun
207:Dundalk, Maryland
183:
182:
175:September 4, 1990
59:Dundalk, Maryland
943:
843:Preceded by
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820:. Archived from
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791:on April 4, 2023
787:. Archived from
777:Shugg, Wallace.
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758:on April 4, 2023
754:. Archived from
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726:on June 12, 2023
722:. Archived from
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689:. Archived from
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653:The News Journal
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444:on April 5, 2023
440:. Archived from
437:Associated Press
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421:
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418:
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411:on June 12, 2023
407:. Archived from
394:
318:lethal injection
265:Salisbury police
217:Criminal history
171:Date apprehended
156:
119:Criminal penalty
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73:
54:
52:
33:
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824:on May 25, 2021
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137:Greg Taylor, 18
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666:Newspapers.com
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74:(aged 45)
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55:March 28, 1949
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35:Thanos in 1994
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106:Conviction(s)
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828:November 11,
826:. Retrieved
822:the original
815:
805:
795:November 11,
793:. Retrieved
789:the original
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772:
760:. Retrieved
756:the original
749:
740:
730:November 11,
728:. Retrieved
724:the original
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707:
695:. Retrieved
691:the original
684:
674:
664:– via
658:. Retrieved
656:. p. 13
651:
626:. Retrieved
620:
597:– via
591:. Retrieved
557:
535:– via
529:. Retrieved
515:
488:– via
482:. Retrieved
468:
458:
446:. Retrieved
442:the original
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413:. Retrieved
409:the original
402:
343:
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303:
299:
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253:
249:
239:
236:Murder spree
227:
220:
204:
197:since 1961.
190:spree killer
185:
184:
72:(1994-05-17)
70:May 17, 1994
886:1994 deaths
881:1949 births
520:. pp.
473:. pp.
306:gas chamber
242:.22 caliber
161:.22 caliber
23:John Thanos
875:Categories
660:August 16,
593:August 16,
531:August 16,
484:August 16,
377:References
340:last words
201:Early life
159:Sawed off
114:(2 counts)
51:1949-03-28
324:Execution
230:Salisbury
762:July 21,
628:July 16,
448:July 16,
415:July 21,
349:See also
344:"Adios!"
330:Maryland
271:where a
269:Delaware
195:Maryland
697:May 28,
259:Capture
134:Victims
129:Details
273:Smyrna
155:Weapon
84:, U.S.
61:, U.S.
342:were
335:Gregg
287:Trial
123:Death
830:2007
797:2007
764:2007
732:2007
699:2017
662:2021
630:2021
595:2021
533:2021
486:2021
450:2021
417:2016
146:Date
67:Died
41:Born
310:EEG
211:WW2
877::
814:.
781:.
748:.
716:.
683:.
650:.
638:^
619:.
607:^
586:,
582:,
578:,
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570:,
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556:.
545:^
526:31
524:,
522:29
514:.
498:^
479:66
477:,
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467:.
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401:.
385:^
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588:9
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53:)
49:(
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