WORLD'S SERIAL KILLER,GIBSON, HANDED A SECOND DEATH SENTENCE

Serial killer William Clyde Gibson was condemned Friday to die for the murder of Stephanie Kirk, whose body was buried in his New Albany backyard.
Gibson gave short, one-word answers to Floyd Superior Court Judge Susan Orth's questions, and swiveled in his chair as she detailed the brutal murder: How Kirk died after Gibson put his "hands in front of her throat" to strangle her, per his own confession.
Death was the "only appropriate sentence," Orth said in her nearly 30-page sentencing order.
It was the second death penalty for Gibson, who also was condemned last fall in the murder of family friend Christine Whitis.
Although Gibson can appeal, the sentence came as a relief to members of Kirk's family in attendance Friday.
"I'm just glad it's over," said Tony Kirk, her father. "There was a little weight lifted. I've been waiting two years to hear that."
Gibson, 56, had pleaded guilty to killing Kirk after jury selection in the case began, leading Orth to hear testimony this month on whether he should be sentenced to die.
Kirk's body was found in April 2012, just days after police found Whitis' mutilated body in his garage.
Police said during testimony that her back had been broken. Both Kirk, 35, and Whitis, 75, were sexually assaulted after they were killed, police said.
Gibson also has been sentenced to 65 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2002 murder of Florida beautician Karen Hodella, whose remains were found in Clarksville along the Ohio River.
Orth on Friday set Gibson's initial execution date for Kirk's murder as Aug. 15, 2015.
Orth had previously set a tentative execution date of Nov. 26 for Gibson in Whitis' murder, though both dates could change because of automatic appeals.
Death penalty cases go directly to the Indiana Supreme Court for review, Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said.
In arguing against the second death sentence, defense attorney Patrick Biggs had cited Gibson's history of alcoho
ism and bipolar disorder, and his "remorseful" confession.But if Gibson was remorseful, "the judge didn't see it," Henderson said following the sentencing. He cited a tattoo Gibson recieved in prision: "Death Row X3," printed in large letters across the back of his head.
"We can't make someone be sorry," Henderson said. "But what we can do is hold them accountable, and that's what we did."

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