Gooch was the only person sentenced to death and executed by the
federal government of the United States for a kidnapping in which the victim(s) were not killed. Gooch and another man, Ambrose Nix, kidnapped police officers R.N. Baker and H.R. Marks in
Texas on November 26, 1934, and released them in
Oklahoma. Baker was badly injured after being shoved into a glass case, which then broke during the kidnapping. This made the crime a capital offense since the victims had not been released unharmed. Nix was shot and killed while resisting arrest on December 23, 1934. His last words were reported to have been, "It's kind of funny—dying. I think I know what it will be like. I'll be standing there, and all of a sudden everything will be black, then there'll be a light again. There's got to be a light again—there's got to be." Gooch was 27 years old at time of his execution. == See also ==