Utah firing squad executes murderer

A DOUBLE murderer has become the first American prisoner in 14 years to be executed by firing squad in Utah.

Shackled to a chair and with a black hood covering his head, Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49, replied: “I do not – no” when he was asked if he had any last words.

There was an unmistakably 21st century twist to his final minutes of life when Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff used micro-blogging site Twitter to announce he had given final approval for the execution.

“I just gave the go-ahead to Corrections Department to proceed with Gardner’s execution,” Shurtleff tweeted shortly before Gardner was shot. “May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims.”

Utah Department of Corrections director Thomas Patterson told reporters Gardner was pronounced dead two minutes after being shot through the heart.

“This is an unusual task but one we have done professionally,” Patterson said.

“It has been done with absolute dignity and reverence for human life.

“It’s been a balancing act of being sensitive to the families who lost loved ones and the family who lost a loved one tonight.”

Gardner’s execution was billed as a bloody throwback to the days of Old West justice, the first execution of its kind in the US for more than a decade and possibly the last ever.

Firing squads were outlawed by Utah in 2004 but the ban was not retroactive, allowing Gardner the freedom to opt for the gruesome method instead of lethal injection during a hearing in April.

He had spent 25 years on death row for gunning down an attorney in a failed bid to escape from a court room in 1985 during a murder trial. His case had renewed debate about use of the death penalty in theUS and divided familyand friends of his victims.

Loved ones of lawyer Michael Burdell, shot dead by Gardner in his botched escape attempt, have said they were against his execution because Burdell had opposed the death penalty.

“Michael was a gentle soul. He loved people and he loved life. And he would not have wanted Ronnie Lee to be killed, especially in his name,” Donna Nu, Burdell’s fiance told CNN.

“I think that we as a human race – all the brilliant minds we have on this planet – we could come up with something better.”

Gardner’s death came after a day which saw his lawyers fail with multiple appeals to have the execution stayed, lobbying Utah Governor Gary Herbert, a federal court in Denver and the US Supreme Court. All three bids were rejected.

“Upon careful review, there is nothing in the materials provided this morning that has not already been considered and decided by the Board of Pardons and Parole or numerous courts,” Herbert wrote.

“Mr Gardner has had a full and fair opportunity to have his case considered by numerous tribunals.”

The Utah Department of Corrections said Gardner was “relaxed” on Thursday, spending the day reading a David Baldacci novel – Divine Justice – while watching The Lord of the Rings fantasy trilogy.

He was served his final meal – steak, lobster, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up – on Tuesday before choosing to commence a 48-hour fast for undisclosed reasons.

He met his attorney during the morning, after saying goodbye to his brother and daughter on Wednesday through prison bars.

Gardner requested none of his family members be present at his execution, which was witnessed by a small group of state officials, relatives of Gardner’s victims and journalists.