Stephen Wayne Anderson

Stephen Wayne Anderson (July 8, 1953 – January 29, 2002) was an American serial killer, burglar, and poet who was executed at California's San Quentin State Prison by lethal injection in 2002 for the 1980 murder of Elizabeth Lyman. Anderson had escaped prison in 1979 and later admitted to committing at least seven other murders as a contract killer within a three-month timespan before Lyman's murder, as well as the killing of a fellow inmate during his first incarceration. It was determined that six of the alleged contract killings never happened, but police found reason to believe that the other two confessed homicides were legitimate, though he was only convicted in Lyman's murder. During his stay on death row, Anderson became known for composing award-winning poetry, which led to requests for clemency to California Governor Gray Davis, arguing that his work was a sign of rehabilitation. While supporters claimed that Anderson had lied about perpetrating more than two murders, a reinvestigation in 2015 confirmed that Anderson was also responsible for the 1980 murder of Timothy Glashien.