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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Utah Badman To Meet The Firing Squad |
| 2010-04-23 |
| Utah is set to execute a convicted killer by firing squad in June after a judge agreed Friday to the inmate's request for the method, renewing a debate over what critics see as an antiquated, Old West-style of justice. Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49, was given the choice of being killed by lethal injection or shot by a five-man team of executioners firing from a set of matched rifles, a rarely used relic that harkens back to Utah's territorial history. "I would like the firing squad, please," Gardner told State court Judge Robin Reese Friday morning, after Reese told him his avenues for appeal appear to be exhausted. Gardner, 49, was sentenced to death for killing an attorney 25 years ago during a failed escape attempt and shootout. Of the 35 states with the death penalty on the books, Utah is the only one to use the firing squad as a method of execution since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Two men have died in a hail of bullets since that decision: Gary Gilmore, on Jan. 17, 1977 — after famously uttering the last words, "Let's do it" — and John Albert Taylor on Jan. 26, 1996. Oklahoma is the only other state that considers a firing squad an acceptable option, but by law would only use it if lethal injection was deemed unconstitutional. The state has never used the method. The hearing Friday was conducted amid heavy security with several officers standing guard around Gardner and his attorneys. Gardner wore an orange jumpsuit and white shoes and his arms were shackled behind his back. Gardner's attorney, Andrew Parnes, said an appeal is planned, but it was not immediately clear what type of appeal it would be. The judge set the execution for June 18. Defense attorneys on Friday argued against signing the death warrant, saying a jury never heard mitigating evidence in the case that could have led it to decide against the death penalty. They also said to execute Gardner after so many years is cruel and unusual punishment. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #2 Bit of Old Testament in the Mormon religion? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-04-23 21:51 |
| #1 One thing that this article really should touch on is the Mormon doctrine of blood atonement. While other Christians believe that Jesus' sacrifice is enough to redeem us all no matter what we've done, believers in this doctrine think that there are some sins so bad that the sinner has to shed his/her own blood to atone for them. Murder is one of those sins (I think heresy and marrying someone from a different racial group are included but am not sure about that). Not all Mormons subscribe to it, but the ones that do are the reason that Utah has this option for its condemned prisoners. Of course, it's more fun to rag on them as weird bloodthirsty cowboys out there in the Rockies instead.... |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2010-04-23 17:26 |