The Night Before: Outside Stateville as John Wayne Gacy Awaited Execution, May 1994

Name: The Night Before: Outside Stateville as John Wayne Gacy Awaited Execution, May 1994
Uploaded: 2023-05-09T00:00:00Z
Duration: 19 min 28 s
Description: Unedited news footage from outside Stateville prison on May 9, 1994: a death-penalty opponent, spectators who had followed the case for years, and a corrections spokesman briefing reporters as Gacy's execution approached.

Unedited news footage from outside Stateville prison on May 9, 1994: a death-penalty opponent, spectators who had followed the case for years, and a corrections spokesman briefing reporters as Gacy's execution approached.

Subject: John Wayne Gacy
Recorded: about May 9, 1994
Runtime: 19:28

Content warning: Concerns the murders of 33 teenage boys and young men; a child interviewed outside the prison mentions the killings and burials. No graphic detail.

The Interview

This is unedited news-crew footage recorded outside Stateville Correctional Center, near Joliet, Illinois, on the evening of May 9, 1994, a few hours before John Wayne Gacy was executed. Off-camera reporters talk with an anti-death-penalty campaigner, with spectators who had come to the prison, and then with an Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman, who briefs reporters on Gacy's last evening and the arrangements for the execution. The "press conference" of the YouTube title is that briefing. Gacy himself does not appear or speak. The originating station has not been identified, and the footage was posted to YouTube by a third-party channel in 2023.

Historical Context

John Wayne Gacy, a building contractor from Norwood Park Township outside Chicago, was arrested in December 1978 after the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest. The remains of most of his victims were found in the crawl space and grounds of his house. In March 1980 he was convicted of 33 murders of teenage boys and young men and sentenced to death. He spent fourteen years on death row, mostly at Menard Correctional Center, while his appeals ran their course, and was moved to Stateville for the execution. He was the second person executed in Illinois after the death penalty was restored; the first, Charles Walker, was executed in September 1990.

Circumstances

Gacy's execution was set for 12:01 a.m. on May 10, 1994. Crowds gathered outside Stateville that evening; in the footage the spokesman explains that demonstrators were kept in an area farther from the prison than the press. Gacy was executed by lethal injection early on May 10 and was pronounced dead at 12:58 a.m., after a clog in the tubing delayed the procedure.

What the Recording Covers

The footage opens with a man from Portage, Indiana, who says he works with the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and argues that "the state of Illinois is not going to be a bit safer tomorrow." A woman who says she lived three miles from Gacy, and had a teenage son at the time of the murders, says she has been waiting for this day "for a long, long time" and feels nothing but relief that it will be over. Another woman shows reporters a photograph signed by Gacy, which she says was obtained through a retired Southern Illinois University journalism professor who taught writing to inmates at Menard and had begun a book with Gacy; she says she helped research his early life. A reporter also questions her young son.

The second half is the Department of Corrections spokesman's briefing. He says Gacy has visited with family all day and is now hearing mass with a priest, that there is a direct telephone line into Gacy's cell, and that the department is asking a court to clarify an order about whether Gacy's lawyers may stay with him until 12:01. He compares the plans with the 1990 execution of Charles Walker, who, he says, was declared dead about eleven minutes after the procedure began. Finally, the spokesman (or possibly a second official) explains why the department will not let members of the victims' families witness the execution, calling it "a potentially volatile situation."

What Makes the Recording Significant

The tape records how the execution looked from outside the walls on the night itself: the arguments of a protester and of people who wanted the case to end, and the department's own account, in real time, of Gacy's last evening, the legal uncertainty over his lawyers, and its refusal to admit victims' relatives as witnesses.

Archival Importance

As unedited field footage, this tape preserves complete answers, including the spokesman's comparison with the Walker execution, rather than the short excerpts a finished news report would carry.

Important Caveats

Gacy does not speak in this video. The footage is unedited: much of it is ambient sound and crew chatter, and many reporters' questions are off-mic. The originating station has not been identified. The spokesman is not named in the recording, and the speaker of the last part of the briefing is not certain. The spectators' accounts (including the story of the signed photograph and the book) are their own and have not been verified. The YouTube title's "Statesville" should read Stateville.

Death-Penalty Opponent: Under certain circumstances, we have forums and rallies, seminars, that sort of thing. It's a grassroots evolution.

Reporter: Do you think [unclear: "that's" / "there's"] a lot of people that [unclear: "the death penalty is not what you should have"]?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Not a lot. I don't know.

Reporter: [unclear: "Do you think that you're doing it for a bit?"]

Death-Penalty Opponent: Oh, absolutely. I'm sure I'll be right there. We're opposed to the death penalty. I think it's wrong to take another person's life.

Reporter: Wonderful. What does it mean, [unclear: "proper, off penalty"] for somebody? A lot of people would say that the penalty for taking a life, with multiple lives, should be losing their own. How do you refute that? How do you reconcile that?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Well, I can understand how they would feel that way. But it's wrong to take another person's life. And the state of Illinois is not going to be a bit safer tomorrow when John Wayne Gacy is executed. What's the purpose?

Reporter: And why did you come out today?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Because I'm an abolitionist. I'm [unclear: "a post-death penalty" / probably "opposed to the death penalty"].

Reporter: What will your presence here do to further that policy?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Well, some other friends are going to be here later. I'm sure other people from out of the state that I don't know are going to be here. Just to lend support to them. Just so America knows not 100% of the people are for the death penalty.

Reporter: [unclear: "You're sure today is Texas."] Are you from Texas?

Death-Penalty Opponent: No, I'm not. This was a march that I was on in '91. I was at Texas against a killing. I travel this country. No, I'm from Portage, Indiana.

Reporter: So you came out over from Portage?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Right.

Reporter: Did you follow the Gacy case throughout?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Well, I was involved in a press conference on the 14th at the [unclear: "ACU" / possibly "ACLU"] building. And I also spoke at the rally at Cook County Prison. And I spoke at the church afterwards. A lot of my friends that I've gained in the last two years are from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and so basically I'm working with them.

Reporter: So you feel like your cause is at this point a futile one, since it seems [unclear: "capital money's been at" / probably "capital punishment has"] such overwhelming support?

Death-Penalty Opponent: Well, I don't know if futile's the right word, but it's definitely uphill. It's definitely uphill. And it's a battle that we know is going to take another 10, 15 [inaudible] [02:16 to 02:30: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Voice Off Camera: It's going to be great. [02:32 to 02:56: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Voices Off Camera: Curiosity and support. What's going on here? What's going on here? [unclear: "Dungeons and clowns."] You should go. It's fascinating for me, ma'am.

Spectator: It's Elaine. It's Barsevich. B-A-R-S-E-[unclear: "B" / "V"]-I-C-H.

Reporter: [unclear: "Irene" / "Elaine"], why are you out here tonight?

Spectator: I'm here as part of the families. I think that the families that lost those children and young men, I think that they need to know that someone else is happy that this is finally going to come to an end.

Reporter: Would you describe yourself as a death penalty proponent? Was it something before this case that you had given thought to?

Spectator: I am for the death penalty. I think that if someone is sentenced to death, that they should get probably two years for appeals, and after that, put them to death. I mean, why keep them on death row for, you know, 10, 15 years?

Reporter: What about the lawyers and the certain other people that you've heard saying, you know, the man should have life in jail without a chance for parole?

Spectator: No, because there's always that chance for parole. There's always that chance. Probably never will happen, but I... But I know I [unclear: "don't believe that I'm" / "believe that I'm"] for the death penalty.

Reporter: What's your feelings specifically about [unclear: "Jason and" / probably "Gacy"] tonight? You look like you've been around these, these parts for a while. You followed this. I imagine you've heard about it for 14 years, like most of us.

Spectator: I live three miles from him. I still live there today, you know, in my own home, but I just feel maybe because it was so close to me, and I had a teenage son at that time, that I, I, you know, think it would have been mine that just happened to. And I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

Reporter: And your feeling tonight?

Spectator: I feel it'll finally be over. I don't feel any emotion of any kind. I don't feel happy. I don't feel sad. I don't feel anything. I, glad it's finally over.

Reporter: Thanks, ma'am. Are you alone?

Spectator: I'm alone right here right now. My husband's in the car. [unclear: "It's gonna" / "He's gonna"] bring his camera. [04:59 to 05:18: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Mary Tupper: Yes, he just had open heart surgery in Colorado. And I'm sure he would have been here, as he had followed the case and continued his correspondence and conversations with Gacy. Out of respect for, for Harlan and the research and the nose for news that he [unclear: "told" / "taught"] [inaudible] [05:36 to 05:48: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Mary Tupper: No, I would, I won't light a candle, and I [unclear: "except for my experiences would be"]. But I said, you know, (son, name withheld) has been basically raised with this knowledge of Gacy. I mean, he's probably one of the few children who has an autographed picture in his baby book, and it's just, you know, if we're this close, it's more like just following it through, seeing it to the end. I don't know if we'll be able to make it to the end, but he's got school tomorrow and an eclipse to watch.

Reporter: Ma'am, we walked up kind of late, so could you explain to us the picture here and tell us what this is about?

Mary Tupper: Yeah, this is, you'll notice the picture here says, "To Mary and (son, name withheld), love, Harlan." This is Harlan Mendenhall, professor of journalism emeritus from Southern Illinois University. This says, "Best wishes, John W. Gacy"; it's beginning to fade out. And "Best wishes, [unclear: "Liz Heiger"]." Harlan taught creative writing to the inmates at Menard, as just part of his activities in Southern Illinois, and through that developed a relationship with Mr. Gacy and wrote, began writing a book with Mr. Gacy. When they began to write the book, I assisted Mr. Mendenhall in some background research, tracing Gacy's experiences in Iowa, the shoe salesman, his political involvements, things from the Chicago area. Not that dealt with the crime, [unclear: "preliminary"], his life as much as we could trace, his wives, the things that we could find out. So I did a lot of that research.

Mary Tupper: I was going to interview Mr. Gacy myself in April of '83, but I was very pregnant at the time, and they wouldn't let me in. So (son, name withheld) was born in June, and we never did get it reset, so they went ahead and authorized permission for this photo to be taken in the prison, and it was sent to us in August. So (son, name withheld) is probably one of the few children who has an autographed picture of John Gacy in his baby book.

Reporter: So why are you here tonight?

Mary Tupper: I'm here tonight, I think, because I've been involved with the Gacy story for so long. (Son, name withheld)'s been aware of it for, for a very long time. It is history, uh, Gacy's history, whether we like it or not, and out of respect for Mr. Mendenhall, who would be here if he could, but he's had open heart surgery in Colorado.

Reporter: How do you feel about the execution?

Mary Tupper: Neither way as it applies to Mr. Gacy. I don't take a stand on capital punishment as it applies to Mr. Gacy. I'm here to see the case through. It may end tonight; he may get a last-minute appeal, in which case for me the story will go on.

Reporter: What's your name?

Mary Tupper: Mary Tupper.

Reporter: How are you [unclear: "feeling today" / probably "spelling that"], Mary?

Mary Tupper: [unclear: "To PPR" / probably "T-U-P-P-E-R"].

Reporter: (Son, name withheld), come here real quick. Apparently this is something you've heard about your whole life. You're a little boy. Why are you here tonight? Is this because it's something big and famous and there's a lot of TV people and print people around here?

Son: Well, sort of that, and sort of because I wanted to actually see the execution happen, but I can't now, and so I can see that just in memory.

Reporter: Do you think somebody should die for killing other people?

Son: Yes, I should. Yes, I do.

Reporter: How old are you, (son, name withheld)? Do you know what he was accused of doing and convicted of doing? Are you aware? Do you know what that means?

Son: Yeah, he was accused of killing people and [unclear: "stashing"] them.

Son: Well, what I read is that he was a homosexual and he only killed men, and he buried them under the [unclear: "false face" / probably "crawl space"].

Reporter: So you're aware of what it's like to kill somebody, and you think that it's okay to kill somebody for killing other people?

Son: Well, yes, I do.

Reporter: Okay, thank you.

Voices Off Camera: Go ahead. She needed to talk to me. I'm sorry. [10:22] Yeah, I'm trying to get up there. Give me a couple minutes. All right, I'm trying to get out of here. [10:28 to 10:56: no speech in the machine transcript.] [10:56] Just open your eyes, please. [10:58 to 11:26: no speech in the machine transcript.] [11:26] I know. I know. [11:28 to 11:47: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Idoc Spokesman: Well, I don't. No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that's when we got to start moving our people back there. So between now, between now and then, you know, the court's got to give us some clarification. At least that's what we're going to request. There's clarification on, you know, hows and whats and how many and all that other stuff. I don't know. We still, that's up in the air. I mean, the courts, the court has to explain that to us. That's what we're asking for.

Idoc Spokesman: Oh yeah. [unclear: "Hell, they've been, they all for a minute back there."] Oh yeah. Right now he's having mass, having mass right now. Well, like we talked, like, like I just mentioned, uh, he has visited with family. He's been visiting with family all day. He is now, uh, as we speak, having mass with the priest [unclear: "room"]. I don't know. Well, you know, who knows? No, I, I asked him if he wanted me to reveal that, and he said no. I don't know that he's asked for it. If, if anybody would have been family, but I don't know for a fact if it's just him and the priest or what.

Idoc Spokesman: I don't, I don't know that there are any relatives of the murder victims here. I don't know that [unclear: "perfect"]. They're not due to be in, in, uh, you know, in our possession, if you will, which [is] probably [a] bad term, until later on this evening. Once again, once again, that is what we're asking for, is clarification from the court. I read the thing. Uh, several other people read the order. Uh, to us, there's some, there's a certain amount of ambiguity to it, and we're asking the court to clarify that for us.

Reporter: What would it do to the procedure if they, if, if Gacy's lawyers are forced to stay there or allowed to be able to stay there until 12:01?

Idoc Spokesman: I don't know. We'll have to take a look at it [unclear: "because he assessed that at the time"].

Reporter: He wants to make a confession to the priest?

Idoc Spokesman: I don't know that I, I don't, he didn't say anything about that. I have no idea. I haven't been back there. The last time I was back there was the last time I was in front of you guys. [14:06 to 14:14: no speech in the machine transcript.] Who knows? I mean, anything is possible. We all knew going into this thing that this was a complicated, complex issue, and mostly a legal issue. And that's what we're dealing with. [14:30 to 14:38: no speech in the machine transcript.]

Idoc Spokesman: I don't know. I can't tell you about two phone lines. I can tell you there's a direct line going into Gacy's cell. But they didn't have any outside lines going, so they could [unclear: "fix"]. I don't know. I don't know.

Reporter: Can you call out on that line, or can [unclear: "we only be able to call"]?

Idoc Spokesman: I don't really know, Carol.

Reporter: Is it a procedure to [unclear: "eat and have"] the protesters or the demonstrators so far away?

Idoc Spokesman: No, actually, it's not really all that much different than it was for Charlie Walker or for [unclear: "Hampton"].

Reporter: What's the reasoning for having [unclear: "him" / "them"] there?

Idoc Spokesman: Well, you guys got to be near here, and they got to be down there, so that's what it's all about. I mean, physically, you know, you can only have so many people in one area.

Reporter: I was [under] the impression earlier that the family had to leave [unclear: "on the case here to see a dinner"]. Is that...

Idoc Spokesman: They left and they came back.

Reporter: [unclear: "What did" / "When do"] they have to leave again?

Idoc Spokesman: If they're not already left, pretty soon, around 10. Let's see, what time is it now? They told me that the mass would last until about 9:30, so I don't know if they're going to come.

Voices: [unclear: "11 to 12."] [unclear: "11 to 12."]

Idoc Spokesman: What they're telling me is that they anticipate the mass will conclude at 9:30. [15:59] Yes, absolutely. We have a place set up for him.

Reporter: And was Walker, did he have his attorney present?

Idoc Spokesman: No, he did not. As you'll recall, Walker, you know, gave up on his appeal. So I don't think he had an attorney here at all.

Reporter: [unclear: "What does Walker represent in you?"] [unclear: "He's not just saying he was requesting. He bought his next Walker's request. He was a witness to him."]

Idoc Spokesman: Okay, I didn't know that. I've never seen a list of witnesses for any of this stuff, other than the media stuff.

Reporter: Well, [unclear: "what does he come out here for"]?

Idoc Spokesman: Some of them, yeah. Those who want to, we'll be glad to let [unclear: "him" / "them"] come on out. Oh yeah, and I intend to, when they get here, I intend to go ask them, you know, if they care to do that, identify themselves, and we'll make some arrangements for them.

Reporter: How soon do you think it will be, assuming it happens [at] 12:01?

Idoc Spokesman: I think all this, oh, what? You know, the final procedure? I don't really know. You know, it's hard to tell. When we, the thing that's different with this is we had Charlie Walker all prepared, and he was all plugged into the machine and ready to go at 12:01. So, and you know, and he was declared dead at 12:11, or 12:12, I think is what it was. Took 11 minutes. This time, we're starting at 12:01, taking the inmate from his cell and putting him onto the gurney and going through that procedure.

Reporter: [unclear: "You know, there's a new president, Elgin won the mission of keeping the lawyer for the client, the right to court execution."]

Idoc Spokesman: No, it's not [unclear: "a word"].

Reporter: Two other points of clarification. You said when you visited Gacy today, that it was today, not two weeks ago, that you walked around the grounds?

Idoc Spokesman: Yeah, this evening, just before he came up.

Reporter: He's on lockdown?

Idoc Spokesman: Yeah.

Reporter: Okay, and he can, so.

Idoc Spokesman: Gacy is in a secure area, and the recreation area set up for the inmates on the, you know, on a condemned unit there, back there. So, you know, he was out there in a relatively small area. [17:52] Yeah, I already did that. No, no, please.

Reporter: They've been turned down regularly for quite a period of time. Can you explain the department's position?

Idoc Spokesman: Sure. There's a limited amount of space in that area. One, point one, point two, is that this is a potentially volatile situation. We need to ensure that there's control and security in regard to the execution. The way we have decided to do that would be to limit access to the execution itself.

Reporter: What do you mean by potentially volatile?

Idoc Spokesman: Excuse me. [18:35 to 18:40: no speech in the machine transcript.] If an individual, if an individual from the victims' families [were] allowed in, you would necessarily have to, out of fairness, [unclear: "leave" / probably "let"] other folks in from Gacy's side. So you have a potential problem there. You need to be able to see that. That seems very obvious to me.

Reporter: Are victims' families here [unclear: "on the roads"]?

Idoc Spokesman: Not yet.

Reporter: Will they be?

Idoc Spokesman: Yes. They may be here, too. I don't know. Yes, I did ask about that, and arrangements will be made if they so desire to, quite frankly, before and or after the execution.

Reporter: Okay. Thank you.

Idoc Spokesman: Thank you. [Clip ends at 19:28.] ---