David Blackwell was executed in the Nevada State Prison on April 22, 1949 for the crime of murder. He was convicted for killing two Reno police officers on November 8, 1947.

Even though Blackwell was only 19 when was executed he had already an extensive criminal background. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and started to get into trouble when he was very young. He was sent to the Washington State Reformatory, and in 1947 escaped.

He returned to Tacoma and shot and wounded David Wold who was 17 years old. Blackwell said that Wold had squealed on him. Blackwell then returned to the Washington State Reformatory where he enabled two companions to escape. They then went on a robbing spree throughout Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Nine days after his initial escape from the Reformatory, Blackwell and his companions came to Reno. After robbing a bar of $3,800, they retreated to a Reno motel.

Detective Capt. LeRoy Geach and Detective Sgt. Allen Glass came to that motel to question Blackwell about the robbery. They were met by a hail of bullets from a gun Blackwell had under his pillow.

Blackwell said his life of crime came from being under the influence of the wrong kind of people at an early age, he then said his life of crime then snowballed to its inevitable conclusion.

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