intervene. Employee Larry Thompson, and another casino customer, David Ballard, tried to stop him. Bishop shot Thompson in the stomach and Ballard in the back as he tried to flee. Bishop stole $238 and fled the casino. Thompson survived the shooting, but Ballard, a 22-year-old newlywed Volkswagen mechanic from Baltimore, Maryland, succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital on December 30. He never regained consciousness following the shooting. He had been married for only three hours before being shot. Capture Following the shooting, Bishop fled the casino in a green car, which was found abandoned at the Frontier Hotel the following day. He later robbed a man at the Union Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas a day after the murder and stole his car. Bishop abandoned the stolen car and then stole a pickup truck during his attempt to flee from authorities. He took hostages and got into another car at gunpoint, ordering the owner to drive him around. He then hijacked a U.S. mail truck and took another hostage. Finally, he stole a UPS truck, bringing the number of stolen vehicles to five. He eventually abandoned the UPS truck and made his way on foot. On December 22, two days after the casino robbery, Bishop was captured following an extensive manhunt. He was captured in Boulder City, Nevada, sleeping beneath a mobile home or camper. The gun used in the murder was found in his possession. Despite claiming he would shoot it out with authorities, Bishop surrendered quietly and was taken into custody before being taken back to Las Vegas to face charges. Execution Bishop was first sentenced to death on February 10, 1978, after he admitted to murdering Ballard. Bishop said he would not appeal from the moment he was sentenced and even feared his execution would never be carried out. Under Nevada law, the Supreme Court of Nevada must review any death sentence. An automatic appeal was filed against the wishes of Bishop, who tried to fire his attorneys in an attempt to speed up his execution. In 1979, the Supreme Court of Nevada refused to reverse the sentence. On August 1, 1979, Bishop was sentenced to die in the gas chamber for the murder of Ballard. His execution was originally scheduled for August 27, 1979. However, on August 25, Justice William Rehnquist issued a stay, ordering the state of Nevada to answer a series