John Thanos
John Frederick Thanos (March 28, 1949 – May 17, 1994)[1] was an American murderer who was convicted in 1992 of the September 1990 murders of three teenagers: Billy Winebrenner, Gregory Taylor, and Melody Pistorio.
John Thanos | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Frederick Thanos March 28, 1949 |
| Died | May 17, 1994 (aged 45) |
| Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Two counts of first degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
| Date | August 31-September 4, 1990 |
| Weapon | Sawed off .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle |
Early life
Thanos was born to John Steven and Patty Thanos. John was described at his trial as a mentally ill WW2 veteran who severely abused Thanos and even drugged his wife with sleeping pills so he could have sex with their daughter. Thanos was expelled from school and spent many years in-and-out of prison for various crimes committed both in and out of prison.[2]
Murders
On August 31, Thanos encountered Greg Taylor while hitchhiking. Holding him at gunpoint while in his car, Thanos shot Taylor three times in the head because he refused to comply with his demands (he intended to tie Taylor to a tree). Thanos stole his car and altered his appearance to look more like Taylor.
On September 1, Thanos arrived at a gas station and traded his father's watch to Billy Winebrenner for $20 and some gas, with the intent of returning and paying $60 for the watch back. Returning two days later, Winebrenner did not have the watch (having given it to his girlfriend, who left it in her jewlery box at home, and had come to the gas station to keep him company). Furious, Thanos robbed the store at gunpoint and then shot them both twice in the head. He was later apprehended the next day after a shootout.
Trial
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: "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" during his sentencing hearing for the murder of Winebrenner and Pistorio.
His attorney later said of Thanos: "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."[1]
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 gas chamber 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 EEG data recorded, in an attempt to raise evidence that execution by gas chamber is cruel and unusual, as defined by the 8th Amendment, and thus unconstitutional. The legislature of Maryland responded by making lethal injection the primary means of execution in January 1994.[3]
Execution
Thanos was executed in 1994 by the state of Maryland by lethal injection, becoming the first person to be executed in Maryland since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. Thanos was 45 years old; his last words were "Adios!"
References
- "John Frederick Thanos | Thanos: violent, venomous - and 'damaged' 'Sick' convicted killer is product of abuse, lawyer says - tribunedigital-baltimoresun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. 1993-10-31. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
- https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-10-31-1993304035-story.html#:~:text=Born%20March%2028%2C%201949%2C%20Thanos,two%20versions%20of%20his%20childhood.
- "Given a Push, Maryland Alters Its Death Penalty". The New York Times. 1994-03-25. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
General references
- Capital Punishment History – Persons Executed in Maryland since 1923. Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- Capital Punishment History – A Historical Perspective. Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- U.S. Executions Since 1976. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- Kuntz, Tom. Word for Word: The Condemned; As Executions Mount, So Do Infamous Last Words. The New York Times (1994-07-31). Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- McMenamin, Jennifer. Key death penalty dates. The Baltimore Sun (2007-01-26). Retrieved on 2007-11-11.