Wallace Wilkerson
Wallace Wilkerson ( – May 16, 1879) was an American stockman who was sentenced to death by the Territory of Utah for the murder of William Baxter. Wilkerson professed his innocence, but chose to die by firing squad over hanging or decapitation. The execution was botched; Wilkerson took up to 27 minutes to die because the firing squad missed his heart. His case, Wilkerson v. Utah, was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States and continues to be cited in present-day case law involving cruel and unusual punishment. Background Wallace Wilkerson was born in Quincy, Illinois, to a Mormon family. At the age of eight, he moved with his parents to the Territory of Utah. At the age of seventeen, Wilkerson was working as a stockman and horse breaker. He enlisted several times in the military, once serving as a drummer in San Francisco, California. In 1877, Wilkerson lived at Payson in Utah Territory and worked with his brothers at Homansville. He frequented a saloon nearby at Eureka. The bartender, William Baxter, called Wilkerson a "California Mormon", which was considered a slur, and once used a six shooter to break up a conflict between Wilkerson and another patron in the saloon. Death of William Baxter On June 11, 1877, Baxter stopped at a saloon owned by James Hightower in the Tintic Mining District while on the way to Homansville. He met Wilkerson and the two began to play a card game of cribbage for money. An argument broke out between the men over accusations of cheating. Baxter attempted to back out of the struggle, but was fatally shot in the forehead and temple by Wilkerson, who then fled. The next morning, the coroner examined the body of Baxter, who was determined to have been unarmed at the time of the shooting. Authorities quickly captured Wilkerson and kept him under guard in Goshen to prevent him from being lynched. Trial Wilkerson was indicted for premeditated murder by a grand jury. On September 29, 1877, he pleaded not guilty and was placed in the Utah County jail. Wilkerson's trial at the First District Court of Utah Territory commenced on November 22. He was convicted by the jury two days later. On November 28, state district judge P. H. Emerson sentenced Wilkerson to death and set an execution date of December 14, 1877. Wilkerson chose to be executed by firing squad instead of the other options of hanging or decapitation that were legal in the territory at the time. Appeals A stay of execution was issued after Wilkerson's attorney filed an appeal. The Supreme Court of Utah Territory denied the appeal in January 1878. On January 8, 1879, attorneys E. D. Hoge and P. L. Williams submitted a writ of error that raised an argument of cruel and unusual punishment on behalf of Wilkerson to the Supreme Court of the United States during its October 1878 term. On March 17, 1879, Justice Nathan Clifford delivered the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that