As death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner was being strapped into the Utah State Prison’s execution chair, family members held vigil outside. Gardner would not die by lethal injection or electrocution, however, he would instead be put to death by a .30-caliber Winchester rifle.
The Friday morning death of this convicted killer was the first execution by firing squad in the United States in fourteen years. How is this possible? Although Utah adopted lethal injection as the default execution method in 2004, Gardner was still able to choose the firing squad option because he was sentenced to death before the law changed. The executioners were all anonymous, certified police officers who volunteered to perform this controversial task. Each stood about 25 feet from Gardner behind a wall cut with a gunport, with a set of .30-caliber Winchester rifles aimed at a white target pinned over Gardner’s chest. One rifle was loaded with a blank, leaving the gunman who fired the fatal shot unknown.
Not surprisingly, this rare event has garnered considerable controversy. CBS affiliate reporter Fields Moseley, an eyewitness, stated at a post-execution press conference that he felt the shooting death was very violent and not at all clinical. Really?
According to Associated Press reporter Jennifer Dobner, “There was no blood splattered across the white cinder block wall at the Utah State Prison. No audible sounds from the condemned. I couldn’t see his eyes. I never saw the guns and didn’t hear the countdown to the trigger-pull.” Most of the additional eye witnesses from various news agencies seem to agree with Dobner’s description, even calling the scene nearly sanitary. So why the uproar? After all, Gardner died at the hands of a gun, the same weapon he used to murder attorney Michael Burdell during a 1985 failed escape attempt at a Salt Lake City courthouse. Coincidentally, Gardner was at the court facing a murder charge for the shooting death of a bartender one year prior. Most importantly, however, is the fact that Gardner freely chose to die by firing squad. The decision was not mandatory or forced; it is a case of one death row prisoner voluntarily choosing to end his life at the hands of gunmen.
Gardner told his lawyer that he made his decision because he preferred it, not to gain attention towards his case nor to embarrass the state of Utah.
Really?
On Wednesday, he asked to speak to CNN’s “Larry King Live.” Producers expressed interest in an interview; ultimately, however, Gardner was unavailable to the media due to Department of Corrections policy.
Additionally, according to MSNBC, Gardner tried to delay the execution when the Supreme Court denied multiple appeals. Days before his execution, he spoke of his desire to start a 160-acre organic farm and program for at-risk youth.
The man who just sparked a capital punishment controversy spent his last day sleeping, reading the novel “Divine Justice” (hmm…), watching the Lord of the Rings, and meeting with attorneys and Mormon bishop. He enjoyed his last meal two days prior to his execution- which included steak, lobster tail, and apple pie. Utah Prison spokesmen report he was relaxed; obviously, he knew what he was getting himself into and was content with his decision.
Most death row inmates are not given a choice of how to die. So why all the fuss?
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