Archive · 4 Nov 2025
George Banks, 1982 Pennsylvania Mass Murderer, Dies in Prison
George Banks, a man who killed 13 people in a shooting in 1982, has died in prison.
He was 83 years old.
The shooting happened a long time ago, and he killed many people, including his own five children.
He used a rifle during the rampage.
After he was caught, he was sent to prison for life because the courts decided he was not mentally well enough to be executed.
He died from sickness, which was kidney cancer.
One person who survived his attack was unhappy that Banks never faced the death penalty.
George Banks, who killed 13 people in a 1982 shooting rampage, died in prison at age 83.
Banks died of complications from kidney cancer at Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania.
He was convicted of killing 13 people, including his five children, during the 1982 incident in Wilkes-Barre.
Banks was sentenced to life imprisonment after courts determined he was not mentally competent for execution.
A survivor expressed frustration that Banks's death sentence was not carried out.
- Who
- George Banks, an 83-year-old convicted mass murderer
- What
- Died in prison from complications of kidney cancer
- When
- Sunday afternoon
- Where
- Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania
- Why
- Died of complications from renal neoplasm (kidney cancer) after serving a life sentence for a 1982 mass shooting.
Mental Incompetence
Justice for Victims
Execution vs. Life Imprisonment
Mental Incompetence
Defense lawyers successfully argued that Banks was insane when he committed the crimes, and state courts prevented his execution, resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment.
Justice for Victims
A survivor of the shooting expressed frustration that Banks was not executed, questioning the purpose of the death penalty if not applied in such cases.
- Name
- George Banks
- Age at Death
- 83
- Date of Death
- Sunday afternoon
- Location of Death
- Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania
- Cause of Death
- Complications from renal neoplasm (kidney cancer)
- Year of Rampage
- 1982
- Number of Victims
- 13 killed, 14 shot
- Convictions
- 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder