On July 19, 1976, Gary Gilmore robbed a Utah gas station and murdered employee Max Jensen. The following evening, he robbed a motel, murdering employee Bennie Bushnell. Neither man posed any threat to Gilmore, as he forced them to lie down, then shot them in the back of the head. He was arrested the following day, tried, and found guilty of murder. He was executed 10 months later.

Gilmore was distraught over a temporary breakup with his girlfriend, Nicole. At first, he denied killing the men but eventually admitted to the crimes. Later, when asked why he killed the men, he responded: "I killed Jenkins and Bushnell because I did not want to kill Nicole."

Norman Mailer's 1979 book, "The Executioner's Song", examines the events around these murders. It begins with Gary's release from prison and chronicles his life trying to assimilate into normal society before committing the two grisly murders. Mailer then takes us through the trial and the numerous delays of the execution.

Mailer explores Gilmore's personality. He was intelligent, confident, handsome, and charming, but quick to anger. When he died at the age of thirty-six, he had spent more than half his life behind bars. He had only been out of prison a few months after serving 13 years for armed robbery before committing the two murders.

The killer acknowledged that he deserved to die for his crime and requested death by firing squad. He preferred death to a life of continued incarceration. Despite his desires, others filed legal arguments seeking to stop or postpone the execution. Family members hoped to save Gilmore's life. Others opposed the death sentence on ideological grounds. Some lawyers opposed the execution because it made it more likely the state would execute their clients, who were guilty of even worse crimes.

Mailer's book also examines the lives and motivations of all those involved in the killer's life - from his family to his girlfriend to his cellmates to his lawyers. Each has a backstory, and we hear many of those stories in great detail, leading to a book that exceeds one thousand pages. Not every backstory feels necessary, but it adds depth to the narrative and offers insight into everyone's motivations.

"The Executioner's Song" is a true-crime novel. It is written in the style of a novel, but the events are non-fiction. This ambiguous classification allowed it to win the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

In some ways, the book humanizes a killer but not enough for the reader to feel sympathy for him. He grew up in a poor family with a single mother. His father was involved in illegal activities and mostly absent during Gary's childhood. He was in trouble with the law at a young age. None of these justify his actions. He had a gift for manipulating people and convinced Nicole to enter a suicide pact with him. They both survived. Numerous stays of execution played with his emotions as he prepared himself for death multiple times; but this was far less torture than that suffered by the families of his victims.

Gary Gilmore contributed almost nothing to society and hurt many people. His family tried to help him, but his actions caused a great deal of pain. Nicole is the most sympathetic character - She was abused as a child and manipulated by Gary and others.

This book tells a story of human drama, legal proceedings, life in prison, the ethics of capital punishment, and a battle for rights. It even contains a love story. Nicole returned to Gary after his capture, but the two were forbidden to see one another after their suicide attempts. Many of their love letters appear in this volume.

Mailer presents a straightforward narrative, interjecting minimal judgment. He lets the reader draw their own conclusions about Gilmore. The killer deserved severe punishment for his crimes. Whether death is appropriate remains a national debate.