Thaindian News

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (BNO NEWS) – Ronnie Lee Gardner’s attorneys have requested that Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert issue a temporary stay of his anticipated execution, which is scheduled to occur early Friday, the state’s Department of Corrections said on Thursday.

Gardner, 49, is set to be executed by a firing squad for the 1985 murder of Michael Burdell, an attorney while Gardner was trying to escape from custody at a Salt Lake City courthouse. Gardner chose a firing squad over lethal injection for his execution.

On Monday, the Utah’s Board of Pardons and Parole refused to revoke the twice-convicted killer’s sentence. Gardner claimed that he was a changed man and asked the court to spare his life but the commission members were unimpressed by Gardner’s claims during the two-day hearing.

Since 2004, convicts are not allowed to choose their capital punishment but prisoners from earlier dates are. So far three inmates have chosen the firing squad as their execution. The state is the only U.S. state that has firing squad as a current execution method. Lethal injection is the default capital punishment.

Gardner’s legal counsel signed a three-page letter asking that Governor Herbert “issue a respite or reprieve pursuant to your executive power under the Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 12.3(a), to temporarily stay his execution currently scheduled for June 18, 2010, at 12:01 a.m.”

The letter was delivered Thursday shortly before 10 a.m., local time and it is currently under review.

On Tuesday at approximately 6.30 p.m. local time, Gardner consumed his last meal that included steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7Up. Gardner has chosen to fast prior to his execution.

On Wednesday, Gardner was moved to an observation cell after he met with family members. He will remain in the 10-foot by 6-foot cell until his execution, and staff characterized Gardner’s mood as “reflective” during the move.

On April 2, 1985, Gardner was about to be prosecuted at the Metropolitan Hall of Justice for the killing of Melvyn John Otterstrom during a 1984 robbery when he shot and killed attorney Michael Burdell during an escape attempt. Gardner also injured bailiff Nick Kirk. The defendant got the gun from his then girlfriend.

The Utah prison personnel said they are ready and capable of handling the execution by firing squad. Five anonymous marksmen will each use matching .30-caliber rifles, stand behind a wall cut with five gun ports. One of the rifles will be an ineffective round, similar to a blank, which delivers the same recoil as a live round.

Gardner will be blindfolded, strapped to a chair and a target pinned to his chest. The marksmen will fire from a distance of 25 feet.