ARTHUR GARY BISHOP

Soon after Bishop's sentencing, while he sat on death row in Utah's state prison at Point of the Mountain, a rumor circulated that persons unknown had offered a $5,000 bounty for his murder. Not only that, the story ran, but another $5,000 had been offered for Douglas Bishop's heada ten-grand package deal for the death of both brothers. Captain Craig Rasmussen, the prison's security chief, told reporters (quoted by Cliff Linedecker in Thrill Killers), "These kinds of rumors occur with a high degree of regularity, but we are taking this Bishop case seriously because of the catastrophic results should he actually be attacked after we had been given public warning."

Bishop with appellate attorneys and DA Stott

In fact, there were no attempts on the life of either Bishop brother, though their status as "short eyes"child molestersmade them outcasts even within the prison's undistinguished population. Arthur had more important matters in mind, like rediscovering the religion of his youth. "With great sadness and remorse," he said "I realize that I allowed myself to be misled by Satan." Repentance means a change of heart, though, and Bishop had not entirely abandoned his hopes for survival in this world. Attorneys pursued their petition for a new trial, but Utah's Supreme Court rejected that bid on February 3, 1988. Only then did Bishop give up hope and resign himself to death. On February 29 he filed a motion to dismiss his lawyers and replace them with counsel willing to abandon any further appeals. The trial court held a second competency hearing on Bishop and determined that he knew what he was doing. On May 2, 1988 the Utah Supreme Court lifted Bishop's indefinite stay of execution and ordered the trial court to set an execution date.

Judge Frank Noel

Bishop appeared before Judge Frank Noel three days later, handcuffed and shackled, to read a brief handwritten statement. "In reflecting back on my life," he said (quoted by AP reporter Robert Mims), "I remember a lot of good things, but these are overshadowed by the things I have done. I wish I could make restitution somehow, but I don't see how I can. I wish I could go back and change what happened, or that by giving my life these five innocent lives could be restored. Again, I say that I am truly sorry for all the anguish." Judge Noel, unmoved, signed the official death warrant and scheduled Bishop's execution for June 10, 1988.

Back at Point of the Mountain, prison psychologist Al Carlisle told reporters that Bishop seemed to be a new man. He had read the Book of Mormon 10 times from cover-to-cover during his four years in prison, while using TV headphones to shield himself from the profanity of fellow inmates. Still, Carlisle told Robert Mims, Bishop feared that "his old impulses would come back" if he were someday freed. "I've seen remorse in him from the beginning," Carlisle went on. "He believes he will be going into the spirit world, that it will be more peaceful than here. He doesn't believe he's been forgiven. He believes he can continue to work on the other side on these problems."

Meanwhile, Carlisle said, Arthur Bishop had told his keepers that he was "ready and anxious to die."