May 25, 1979: The execution that reset America's death penalty
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May 25, 1979: The execution that reset America's death penalty
John Spenkelink was born March 29, 1949 in Le Mars, Iowa. He escaped from a California prison in 1972, where he was serving a sentence for armed robbery. On February 4, 1973, the 24-year-old Spenkelink picked up 24-year-old Joseph Szymankiewicz as a hitchhiker and checked into a hotel in Tallahassee, Florida. The two had apparently been engaged in a robbery spree together.
After a heated argument at the hotel, Spenkelink left to heat a meal, returned, and shot Szymankiewicz in the back and beat him with a hatchet. Szymankiewicz died. At trial, Spenkelink claimed he acted in self-defense — asserting that Szymankiewicz had stolen his money, forced him to play Russian roulette at gunpoint, and sexually assaulted him. The prosecution disputed this account, presenting evidence that an eyewitness said both men were involved in the shooting. The jury convicted Spenkelink of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. The self-defense claim was rejected.
Spenkelink did not waive his appeals. He pursued every available legal avenue over the following years, maintaining his innocence throughout. Governor Bob Graham, under intense pressure from national civil rights organizations, religious groups, and anti-death penalty activists, declined to intervene. On the morning of May 25, 1979, Spenkelink was executed by electric chair at Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida. He was 30 years old. His final statement reportedly expressed hope that his death would help bring an end to the death penalty.
Spenkelink was the first person executed in the United States against his will after the Supreme Court's 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment. Earlier post-reinstatement executions involved men who had waived their appeals. Spenkelink's case became a flashpoint for the national death penalty debate — exposing regional divides, accelerating advocacy on both sides, and foreshadowing the racial and socioeconomic disparities that would come to define American capital punishment in the decades that followed.
His case is cited by death penalty scholars and abolitionists as the opening moment of the modern American execution era — not because of the crime itself, but because of what his involuntary death represented: the state taking a life over the individual's final objections.
Also on this day
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American Airlines Flight 191 crashes on takeoff from Chicago O'Hare, May 25, 1979 · WikipediaAmerican Airlines Flight 191 — a DC-10 — crashed immediately after takeoff from Chicago O'Hare International Airport when its left engine separated from the wing. All 271 people aboard plus 2 on the ground were killed. The accident is the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in history. The cause was determined to be improper maintenance procedures that failed to properly secure the pylon attachment.
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Joetha Collier killed in Drew, Mississippi on her graduation night, May 25, 1971 · WikipediaJoetha Collier, an 18-year-old Black woman who had just graduated from high school in Drew, Mississippi, was shot and killed on her graduation night by White attackers. Drew had recently integrated its public schools. Civil rights leaders Ralph Abernathy, Fannie Lou Hamer, and James Henry attended her funeral and appealed to President Nixon for federal action.
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Unabomber's first bomb injures Northwestern University police officer, May 25, 1978 · WikipediaTed Kaczynski's first confirmed bombing attack detonated at Northwestern University in Illinois, injuring university police officer Terry Marker. The bomb — hidden in a mail parcel — marked the beginning of an 18-bomb campaign that would span 18 years and kill 3 people.
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Derek Chauvin kneels on George Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, May 25, 2020 · WikipediaDerek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis. The encounter was filmed by bystander Darnella Frazier and sparked global protests. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in state court and later convicted federally on civil rights charges.
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F5 tornado destroys Udall, Kansas — deadliest in state history, May 25, 1955 · WikipediaAn F5 tornado struck Udall, Kansas, killing 80 people and injuring 273. The small city was virtually destroyed. Part of a larger Great Plains outbreak.
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Oscar Wilde convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to hard labor, May 25, 1895 · WikipediaOscar Wilde was convicted of "gross indecency" with male persons at the Old Bailey in London and sentenced to two years hard labor. The conviction effectively ended his literary career and led to his imprisonment in Reading Gaol.
Sources used/checked for this issue
- John Spenkelink, Wikipedia — "John Spenkelink," Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Spenkelink
Today in True Crime by Case Bound — 2026-05-25
