Priscilla Ford
Priscilla Joyce Ford (February 10, 1929[2] – January 29, 2005[3]) was an American mass murderer who was sentenced to death after driving her 1974 blue Lincoln Continental down a sidewalk in downtown Reno, Nevada on Thanksgiving Day in 1980.[4] The attack killed six people and injured 23 more. Ford had been diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia with violent tendencies, she had been treated and released by seven different hospitals before moving to Reno in 1980.[5] Ford launched numerous appeals against her death sentence, all of which failed. A heavy smoker with emphysema, she died at the age of 75.[6]
Priscilla Joyce Ford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Priscilla Joyce Ford February 10, 1929 |
| Died | January 29, 2005 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Children | 3 |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (6 counts) Attempted murder (23 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Date | November 27, 1980 3:00 pm |
| Country | United States |
| Location(s) | Reno, Nevada |
| Killed | 6 |
| Injured | 23 |
| Weapons | 1974 Lincoln Continental |
Ford's blood-alcohol ratio was .162, above the limit to legally drive. During the 100-foot drive, Ford drove as fast as 40 miles per hour. Ford did not resist when police asked her to exit her car. Officer Oakes, who was an officer at the crime scene, stated that Ford was remarkably calm. When she asked Oakes how many people she killed, he responded, "five or six," and she replied back, "good". Another officer stated that Ford said, "The more dead, the better," while she was in custody.[2] Among her deceased victims were Iva Britain, 80, of Reno, Jolene Cranmer, 20, of Horseheads, New York, John Koschella, 60, of Reno, Paul Nitzel, 73, of Sunnyvale, California and Josephine Starkey, 50, of Sparks, Nevada.[7]
On August 4, 1981, Ford was found competent to stand trial after being found incompetent on January 29 of that year. The trial lasted almost five months.[8] After 13 hours of deliberation, a jury composed of seven women and five men found Ford guilty on six counts of murder and 23 counts of attempted murder on March 19, 1982. On March 28, 1982, the jury decided she was to be put to death.[9] Ford's lawyer claimed she was mentally ill with schizophrenia and should not be put to death, rather spend the rest of her life in a mental institution, while the District Attorney called her "evil personified" and fought for Ford to be found legally sane. Ford herself went on the stand and testified that she believed she was the reincarnation of Jesus and therefore incapable of sin.[2][10]
The murders were not her only interaction with law enforcement during her life. In 1957, Ford shot her second husband in self-defense before turning the gun on herself. Ford was also arrested for trespassing and assault when her daughter was eleven. Ford, a heavy smoker, died of emphysema aged 75 at Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada on January 29, 2005.[11]
References
- O'Shea, Kathleen A.; Conrad Patrick, Ann (1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 234. ISBN 9780275959524.
- D. Brian, Burghart (17 July 2003). "The day terror came downtown - Feature Story - Local Stories - July 17, 2003". Reno News & Review. CHICO COMMUNITY PUBLISHING, INC. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- "Death row inmate Ford dies". 9 June 2023.
- "Reno Woman Who Killed Six With Auto Sentenced to Die". The New York Times. March 30, 1982.
- "Victims still suffer from car rampage". Associated Press. RENO, Nev.: Deseret News Publishing Company. DeseretNews.com. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- MORRISON, JANE ANN (15 August 2013). "Crimes using cars as weapons seem commonplace". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- "Reno, Nevada. Friday, November 28, 1980, Page 3". Newspaper.com. Reno Gazette-Journal.
- DORNAN, GEOFF (20 March 1982). "Jury convicts woman of six sidewalk slayings with her car". UPI. RENO, NV: United Press International, Inc. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
The trial lasted just over five months and was the longest in northern Nevada history.
- Even though seven people died as a result of Ford's attack, issues in the indictment caused Ford to only be charged with six.
- "Woman on death row awaits fate". LasVegasSun.com. CARSON CITY, NV. 31 January 1998. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- "Mentally Ill Woman Dies After 20 Years on Nevada's Death Row | Death Penalty Information Center". deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 26 March 2018.