Star Daley

The death penalty by hanging for first degree murder was part of the Arizona Statutes at Statehood in 1912. In 1914, there were 19 ballot propositions including one by initiative petition to abolish the death penalty. The proposition was defeated on a vote of 18,129 for and 19,381 against. In 1916, the citizens again gathered enough signatures to place the abolishment of the death penalty on the ballot. The death penalty was abolished by a vote of 18,936 for and 18,784 against. The death penalty was officially abolished on December 8, 1916. In May of 1917, Star Daley murdered James Gibson at a campsite east of Mesa. After a road chase, he was taken from the authorities and lynched by a group of 50 vigilantes at the scene of his crimes. Daley blamed his mother for what he became. He confessed: “I was raised in or near Bartlesville, Oklahoma. My stepfather who is Red Melvin, is known all over that state as a bank robber. He and my mother, who killed my little brother by putting boiling water on him, brought me up. “They used to make me go out and get girls for my mother’s brothel. On several occasions I helped my father to rob banks, and at the robbery of the bank at Glencoe, Oklahoma, I think I killed a man. I know I emptied a box of shells at the posse chasing us and am pretty sure I got one of them. I pulled off a lot of hold-ups there and was finally sent to the reformatory.” Daley eventually came to Arizona and was working at a ranch near Florence. On a Wednesday evening he attacked the rancher’s wife, but she succeeded in defending herself. He was ordered to leave the farm and stole a horse and saddle and fled into the night. On Thursday night, he came upon the camp of the Gibson’s who were camped in the desert about 23 miles east of Mesa. The Gibson’s had been visiting relatives in Globe and were on their way home to Tucson. They set up camp for the night and were preparing supper when Daley rode into camp. The Gibson’s offered Daley food and water and he suddenly pulled out a gun and shot James Gibson 6 times in the back. Daley indicated that “When he told me his name was Gibson, I thought he was the man who had ruined my sister I shot him in the heart.” Daley indicated that his sister was working at a brothel in Juarez when his sister was ruined by a man named Gibson. It appeared that these Gibson’s only shared a name with the man that had ruined Daley’s sister. Daley then told Mrs. Gibson “…there is no capital punishment in this state, so all I would get is a prison sentence. I won’t stay there long, and then I will come and get you.” Daley then made Mrs. Gibson disrobe followed by hours of “incredible horror.” The next morning, they loaded Gibson’s body into the car and headed toward Mesa. The car ran out of gas and Daley went to get gas. A bicyclist came along and talked to Mrs. Gibson and went and informed the Town Marshall. Daley was captured and taken to the Maricopa County Jail in downtown Phoenix. As the story of the crimes circulated, armed mobs began to gather in downtown Phoenix with the intention of lynching Daley there. The Sheriff decided to send Daley to Florence and slipped him out of the jail and into a car around midnight on Saturday night. Once the crowd realized Daley was gone, “…three cars swung out at a terrific pace started on a mission which they heartily believed would be applauded by the people of the country, and which would avenge at least one woman’s honor.” The chase went through Tempe and Mesa. The chase was going at well above 60 miles per hour and “…everything on the road gave it the right of way.” News reports indicated while the chase was on “…all the while at Florence was gathering the expectant mob – waiting, waiting.” The sheriff’s car was stopped near Florence and the deputies gave up Star Daley without a fight. Masked vigilantes took Daley to the scene of the crime. At about 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, a rope was thrown over the cross arm of a telephone pole and Daley was asked if he had any last words. “Yes, I hope this will be a lesson to all men like me. I am not to blame, it is the result of having a mother who worked in a brothel.” Press reports indicated “It was one of the most coolly handled hangings in the history of the state and there was no disorder.” Star Daley then became the last known man to be lynched in Arizona. That morning, a coroner’s jury was convened in Mesa and went to the site of the hanging to investigate. After hearing testimony from Mrs. Gibson and the lawmen involved, the coroner’s jury ruled “Justifiable homicide, by hanging, at the hands of unknown parties.” The body of Star Daley was cut down after the inquest and buried at the site of the crime. It was reported that “Governor Campbell, who had spent the entire night in an effort to find the crowd which had Daley in custody, arrived in time to witness the burial.” In the general election of 1918, a petition initiative was proposed to restore the death penalty. It was passed on a vote of 20,443 for and 10,602 against. Death by hanging in Arizona was restored on December 5, 1918.