Ronnie Lee Gardner chooses firing squad for his execution

[Valasca]

A Utah judge signed a death warrant Friday allowing the state to execute Ronnie Lee Gardner using a five-man firing squad, a spokeswoman for the Utah's state court system told CNN.

Before signing the death warrant, Third District Judge Robin Reese asked Gardner if he wanted to be executed by the method he had chosen previously, spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said.

"I would like the firing squad, please," Gardner replied.

It would be the state's first use of the firing squad since 1996, when John Albert Taylor was executed for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. Taylor said he chose the method to embarrass Utah, which at the time was the only state that offered the firing squad as an option.

Gardner's execution date was set for June 18, 2010. However, Gardner's lawyer said he planned to file an appeal, which could change the date, Volmer said. Gardner was convicted of murder in the 1985 killing of an attorney during a courthouse escape attempt.

A change in Utah's law took the firing squad away as an execution option. But inmates, like Gardner, who have already chosen the firing squad can still be executed that way, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Oklahoma offers the firing squad as an option - but only if lethal injection and electrocution are later found to be unconstitutional, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/23...cution/?hpt=T2

[Whisper]

SALT LAKE (ABC 4 News) - It was just over 25 years ago that inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner went on a shooting rampage in a botched escape attempt.
He killed one attorney, badly injured a court bailiff and suffered a gun wound himself.
The building where the shootings took place no longer stands.
The people Garner shot have long since passed.
All that remains is the horror of that day and a date with a firing squad.
Painfully, let's return to the scene of the crime.
It was April 2nd, 1985, just before 9am.
Prisoner Ronnie LeeGardner was transported to Salt Lake's old courthouse.
He was there on charges stemming from a robbery and shooting death the year before.
But as he entered the building, Gardner suddenly grabbed a gun left in the courthouse by an accomplice.

what happened next:

"By the time the shoot-out at Met Hall was over, one attorney was dead, one guard was wounded and Ronnie Lee Gardner had a bullet hole in his lung."
Gardner was given the death sentence in November of 1985.
[...]
But one who did not live to see Gardner's execution is Nick Kirk.
Kirk was the court bailiff who Gardner shot a quarter century ago.
Badly wounded, Kirk would not return to work for half a year.
He passed away just before Christmas in 1995.
His last few years were marked by a pain that never went away, emotional pain and pain from a bullet lodged in his stomach.
Before he died, Kirk told ABC 4 about that day in April of 1985.
"When I started to turn around, that's when I seen the gun that Ronnie had. Before I could do anything, he shot me, pushed me against the wall and I went down on my knees."
Gardner, now nearly 50 years old, has spent half his life behind bars.
He also pleaded guilty to second degree murder for that 1984 crime.
In addition, he was charged with attacking another inmate with a handmade shank

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top...bQ.cspx?rss=20

Ronnie Lee Gardner

[Unamused Cat]

Hurry up and shoot him already. It's not like Utah shouldn't have taken care of business... say 20 years ago. Bah!

[Whisper]

Yeah I know,wasnt that Gary something the lastone shot by firing squad like 20 yrs ago??

[Tundratot]

They gave him the death penalty and he's still alive 25 years later! He's an old man now. He's lived out the prime of his life. What kind of craziness is that?!

[Pete Bondurant]

That is a good, choice. Very well done.


I was not aware that murdering attorneys was a crime.

[MichaelJCheaney]

The only thing this does is ensures his sorry ass dies in prison.

This will be appealed all the way to the SCOTUS which just pushes off the execution for about a good 5-7 years, and costs the taxpayer alot of money......

Asshole!

[Athena]

This will be appealed all the way to the SCOTUS which just pushes off the execution for about a good 5-7 years, and costs the taxpayer alot of money......

Which wouldn't be an issue if there simply was no capital punishment...

[Just my luck sucks]

I never understood the use of a firing squad. Washington had hanging -cheaper than bullets....ropes are reusable.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Must be nice to get to choose your method of death. His victim sure as hell didn't get a choice.