Gary Lee Sampson
| Gary L. Sampson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 29, 1959 Weymouth, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Pleaded guilty to killing three strangers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, was then sentenced to death by a federal jury in Boston in December 2003 |
| Home town | Abington, Massachusetts |
| Children | 3 |
Gary L. Sampson (born September 29, 1959) is an American murderer who killed three people and was sentenced to death by a federal jury in Massachusetts, United States.
During three days in 2001, Sampson killed three strangers: retiree Philip McCloskey in Marshfield, Massachusetts, college student Jonathan Rizzo in Abington, Massachusetts, and Robert Whitney in Meredith, New Hampshire. He also attempted to kill a fourth victim and stranger: William Gregory, in Vermont. Sampson killed McCloskey and Rizzo after they picked him up hitch-hiking, stabbing them to death. Shortly after that he strangled Whitney. Sampson pleaded guilty to the three killings on September 9, 2003, and was sentenced to death on December 23, 2003, by a federal jury in Massachusetts. (He received the death penalty for the two Massachusetts killings, and a life sentence for the New Hampshire case.)
After Sampson pleaded guilty, a federal jury decided whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison. The defense introduced mental health experts to testify that Sampson had dyslexia as a child, had bipolar disorder, and "suffered from a significant mental impairment" during the killings. A psychiatrist called by the government testified that Sampson did not suffer from any mitigating mental impairment; he was intelligent but violent and deeply antisocial, with antisocial personality disorder. The jury of 12 unanimously returned a sentence of death.
In 2011, Sampson's death sentence was thrown out due to juror misconduct, and he was scheduled for a second sentencing trial on September 16, 2015. He was again sentenced to death on January 9, 2017.
Gary Sampson, who was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and raised in Abington, Massachusetts, was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child but was denied special education because of his intelligence. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade. His parents are Charlotte and Elbert "Herc" Sampson. His father worked as a firefighter, ice cream truck driver, and salesman. Sampson has claimed that his father called him "retarded" and physically abused him. Sampson's defense lawyers claim that at age four, he fell and hit his head, resulting in a brain injury.
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