Gary Gilmore

Gary Gilmore is a career criminal convicted of two senseless murders in Provo, Utah while he is out on parole in 1976. He had been serving time in Marion State Penitentiary in Illinois, where he had been transferred after helping to instigate a riot at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, Oregon. Although Gary had lived in Provo as a child, where he developed a special bond with his cousin, Brenda, his criminal career begins as a pre-teen in Oregon after he, his mother Bessie and two brothers move to Portland. He does his first hard time in McClaren School for Boys in Woodburn, Oregon, midway between Portland and Salem.

Executioner's Song begins with correspondence between Gary and Brenda, which results in Brenda and her sister Toni sponsoring Gary while he is on parole and finding him a place to stay and a job with their father. Gary, who...