How was Death Row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner executed?

Answer 1

Ronnie Lee Gardner was sentenced to death for the murder of lawyer Michael Burdell (plus maiming of another man and violent kidnap of several others), during an attempted escape while he was in prison awaiting trial for another murder. Burdell, who was unknown to Gardner, seems to have been gunned down for no particular reason.

For the first murder, which occurred during an armed hold-up, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Prior to this he had several other convictions for violent crimes, one of which had left his victim permanently disabled. Thus it was not too surprising that when he was found guilty of the second murder, he was sentenced to death.

However he remained on Death Row for 25 years due a long series of legal motions and appeals, mostly based around his alleged mental incapacities due to a childhood illness, or drug abuse.

All of these appeals failed and on 18 June 2010 he was executed by firing squad. He chose the method of execution himself and it was only still possible because he had chosen it before Utah abolished this method in 2004.

Answer 2

Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed via a firing squad, where five shooters were volunteers. Four of the rifles held live ammunition, while a fifth gun held a blank cartridge, thus allowing all of the five men to have plausible denial in the act and not have to have a death on their conscience.