The figures born on this date represent some of the most disturbing categories of violent crime. Westley Allan Dodd, a serial killer and sex offender who preyed on children in the Pacific Northwest during the late 1980s, became one of the few individuals executed by hanging in the United States after his conviction — and notably requested that method himself. His case prompted significant public debate around the death penalty and the treatment of violent offenders with long histories of predatory behavior, as Dodd had begun offending in early adolescence and had multiple prior contacts with law enforcement before his crimes escalated to murder.