A convicted killer, sentenced to death in Utah will be shot, by his own request. Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49 was convicted of capital murder in the 1985 killing of attorney Michael J. Burdell during an escape attempt at a courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
On Friday, Gardner stood before a Utah Judge and expressed his desire to be shot. “I would like the firing squad, please.”
In 1985, while at a Utah courthouse, a female acquaintance provided Gardner with a loaded .22-caliber handgun. Despite being handcuffed, he shot two people, killing Burdell and injuring a court bailiff. Gardner was shot and eventually captured as he attempted to escape.
As Jennifer Dobner of the Associated Press reports:
The execution is set for June 18, 2010. Gardner’s attorney, Andrew Parnes, is planning to appeal, although the success of such an appeal is highly unlikely. 3rd District Judge Robin Reese already declared that Gardner’s appeals have been exhausted.
Utah’s death row inmates were for decades allowed to choose how they wanted to die. State lawmakers removed that choice in 2004 and made lethal injection the default method, though inmates sentenced before then still have a choice.
The repeal of the firing squad wasn’t tied to any discomfort with the method itself. Rather, state lawmakers disliked the heaps of negative media attention that firing squads focused on the state, said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful.
Related Resources:
- Capital Punishment and the Death Penalty (FindLaw)
- Condemned Utah killer could face firing squad (AP)
- Convicted Killer’s Execution Choice: Firing Squad (NYTimes)
- Constitutional Protections for the Criminal Defendant (provided by Rudnick, Addonizio & Pappa)
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