Hill's lyrics, the innocence of heart that they communicate along with their radical defiance, their solidarity with the oppressed, their love of freedom, and their bright vision of a new and happier society.” His music influenced a generations of protest musicians, including Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, and Joan Baez. In 1914, he was accused of murdering a former police officer and his son in Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite a lack of evidence connecting Hill to the crime, he was convicted and executed by firing squad in 1915. Hill’s final message to IWW General Secretary Bill Haywood has become, in a distilled form, a rallying cry for activists: “Don’t waste any time in mourning––organize.” He was executed by firing squad in 1915.
