Murderer 'Last Person' To Face Firing Squad

A double killer will face a firing squad on Friday after his appeal for a stay of execution was rejected.



Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49, is expected to be the last person to die by firing squad in the US when he faces the five gunmen in Utah.

Firing squads were outlawed in the US in 2004 but the legislation was not retroactive so Gardner, sentenced to death for two murders 25 years ago, was able to opt for this type of excecution rather than lethal injection.

Gardner shot dead lawyer Michael Burdell in a court room during a botched escape attempt in 1985 after shooting and killing bartender Melvyn Otterstrom during a robbery.

The decision by the Utah Supreme Court to reject the murderer's appeal against his execution has divided relatives of his victims.

"If there are any so-called victims' rights, Michael would not have wanted Ronnie Lee killed, executed," Burdell's fiancee, Donna Nu told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

There's nothing I could do that would bring back the people that I killed.

Ronnie Lee Gardner

But Mr Otterstrom's family believe he has escaped justice for too long.

"What is clear is that now Mr Gardner must face the consequences he has long evaded and this story must be allowed to slip into history," Jason Otterstrom, who was three years old when his father was shot by Gardner.

Gardner's execution will be different to those seen in films. Instead of standing facing the firing squad, he will be strapped to a chair and shot by officers positioned behind a panel with slots for their rifles.

A target will be pinned to his chest over his heart and a hood placed over his head before he is invited to say his last words. The five executioners, only four with real bullets, will fire their guns in unison.

Witnesses will be able to view the proceedings through a glass window in an adjacent room.

At the appeal hearing Gardner said: "There's nothing I could do that would bring back the people that I killed.

"I know killing me is going to hurt them just as bad. I know it for a fact because I've been on the other side of that gun, so I know."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/US-Murderer-Ronnie-Lee-Gardner-Will-Be-Killed-By-Firing-Squad-After-His-Last-Appeal-Was-Rejected/Article/201006315650101?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15650101_US_Murderer_Ronnie_Lee_Gardner_Will_Be_Killed_By_Firing_Squad_After_His_Last_Appeal_Was_Rejected

Saw this on the news. they said he did it for attention

He said "you live by the gun, you die by the gun".

He thought of it as the more humane method.

Fuck it why not choose the guillotine instead???