Ronnie Lee Gardner, Should Utah Execution Firing Squad Be Banned?
Firing Squad Not Likely Under Fire
Ronnie Lee Gardner's past crimes defined classic botched escape attempts - one resulting in the murder of Michael Burdell, a defense attorney from the Salt Lake City Courthouse. Burdell was killed by a gun Gardner's girlfriend smuggled into the courthouse according to Deseret News.
Gardner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder over the 1984 slaying of Melvyn Otterstrom, shared by CNN. The first of two murders under Gardner's belt securing his one way ticket to a no-pass-go Utah jail cell.
Gardner stated that he was a changed man and wanted to help the youth of today, even though he faced a five rifle firing squad just after midnight on Monday.
HLN reported on reactions of witnesses as the mixed bag of eerie nuts. "Cleaner than expected and fast" and a "sudden burst of gunfire" deemed the description of the day that shadows the sight of Gardner's arms moving twice after the execution.
Utah remains loyal to the old fashioned capital punishment also known as fusilading. Gardner's warrant was signed, sealed and delivered by a judge on April 23, 2010 confirming death by firearms. The fire squad is known to use five shooters, four fully loaded with one full of blanks known to give shooters a less than guilty notion in who actually executes during the moment at hand. HLN reports of four bullets reaching the chair Gardner had been strapped to.
Visit YouTube to view the aftermath of Utah's execution firing squad against Ronnie Lee Gardner along with a mild protest against the execution.
As time passes the battle of opinions over using a firing squad vs lethal injection begins to cause minimal waves since lethal injection has never been described violently as the rat-tat-tat of a firing squad as viewed by reporters on Monday. But then again, perhaps Utah does respect freedom of choice, even in the darkest hours of death row inmates.
Question of the day remains. Utah is not gun-ho for firing squads, even though legal in the state, do you agree with Utah's firing squad execution as a choice for death row inmates?
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Source(s):
Deseret News
CNN
HLN
YouTube
Published by Lori Lane
Lori Lane is a published poet, active electronic journalist, technical writer, fitness center staff member. Lori Lane welcomes questions or feedback. View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentThere needs to be more executions in this country to stop allowing murderers to live their lives to the end, unlike their victims. I hope Utah keeps supporting the death penalty. I wish my state did.
fine article..and love the comments! the firing squad is far less draconian than hanging..can't argue w/ saul's comment
The victims never had the chance to choose! cheers for the report
Just another piece of human offal that didn't deserve to be among human beings. And I don't care how Utah took care of another multiple killer -- just glad they did. But he shouldn't have been given the choice. The families of his victims should have been given the choice of how he would die.
I would have been happy to be one of the 5, he deserved it and he asked for it.
I oppose the death penalty in all its various forms; that being said, I would think that the speed of the firing squad is more 'humane' than the laborious setup of the lethal injection.