Execution to Be a Privilege, Says Death Row Inmate

CARSON CITY, Nev. —  Death row inmate William Paul Thompson said Saturday his execution Monday will be “a privilege and not a punishment.”

Thompson, 51, issued a statement from his “last night cell” that he has “made his peace with God.”

“I am guilty of my crimes and I accept that,” said his handwritten statement released by the prison. “I am offering the only thing I have as payment--my life.”

He said, “I consider it a privilege and not a punishment and I want to die with dignity.”

Hobo Camp Killing

Thompson was convicted of the April, 1984, killing of itinerant Randy Waldron at a hobo camp in Reno. Waldron was shot four times in the head and his wallet, watch and bottle of wine were stolen.

Thompson has pleaded guilty to the killing of two brothers on the American River near Auburn, Calif. Those killings took place shortly before the Reno murder and Thompson pleaded guilty to those crimes after he was sentenced to death in Nevada.

Thompson has also claimed killing people in Kansas, New York and Oklahoma but has declined to give details or to reveal the names of the victims.

Attorney Tommy Graham of Tulsa, Okla., said he was not aware of any Oklahoma prosecutor who disappeared or was killed in 1983.