John Thanos

Thanos waived all of his appeals and refused to fight his death sentence after he was convicted and sentenced to death. At that time, death by gas chamber was the only means of execution provided by the state of Maryland. Thanos agreed to a proposal by a lawyer of another prisoner sentenced to death to have his execution videotaped and his EEG data recorded, in an attempt to raise evidence that execution by gas chamber is cruel and unusual, as defined by the 8th Amendment, and thus unconstitutional. The legislature of Maryland responded by making lethal injection the primary means of execution in January 1994.

Thanos was executed on May 17, 1994, by the state of Maryland via lethal injection, becoming the first person to be executed in Maryland since 1961 and the state's first post-Gregg execution. He was also the first person to be executed in Maryland via lethal injection. Thanos was 45 years old; his last words were "Adios!"

In October 1969, Thanos assaulted and raped a woman in Rosedale, Maryland. He was charged for the offense and was sentenced to twenty-one years in prison. At his trial, he threatened the judge, and later attempted to break out of prison in 1971. He succeeded in escaping but was recaptured shortly afterwards. Thanos was released from prison in April 1986, however, he returned only a month later after he committed an armed robbery at a convenience store. He was sentenced to a further eight years in prison. On April 15, 1990, Thanos was accidentally released early due to a mistake by a prison official who was later fired.

Upon his release, Thanos went to work as a bricklayer and then as a chicken processor in Salisbury. In the summer of 1990, he exposed himself to a woman who gave him a ride. The woman charged him for the offense and Thanos feared he would be returned to prison. Thanos would later reveal in a videotaped confession that he embarked on a crime spree because he was worried his parole was going to be revoked.

On August 29, 1990, Thanos quit his job and purchased a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle. He sawed the barrel down so he could fit the weapon in a black doctor's bag which he carried around with him. That same night, he robbed a cab driver at gunpoint and forced him into the trunk of the vehicle, threatening to kill him if he refused to comply with his demands.

John Frederick Thanos (March 28, 1949 – May 17, 1994) was an American spree killer who was convicted in 1992 of the murders of three teenagers: Gregory Taylor, Billy Winebrenner, and Melody Pistorio. He was executed for the murders in 1994, becoming the first person to be executed in Maryland since 1961.