Ready, Aim, FIRE … Ronnie Lee Gardner Executed by Firing Squad in Utah

Ronnie Lee Gardner wont be down for breakfast …

49 year old Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad last night in in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gardner was sentenced to death for a 1985 capital murder conviction from the fatal courthouse shooting of attorney Michael Burdell during an escape attempt.

 Ronnie Lee Gardner, death by firing squad, how retro

Pics can be seen here.

Gardner was executed at 12:17 am as a Utah firing squad took marksman ain at the target placed over his heart. I must admit, I did not even know that we had execution by firing squad anymore. Actually, Gardner was allowed to choose between the firing squad and lethal injection because he was sentenced to death before Utah eliminated the firing squad as an option in 2004. Gardner told told his lawyer he did it because he preferred it. Ask and you shall receive, and Gardner did.

In an eyewitness account, Associated Press reporter Jennifer Dobner wrote, “There was no blood splattered across the white cinderblock wall at the Utah State Prison. No audible sounds from the condemned. I couldn’t see his eyes. I never saw the guns and didn’t hear the countdown to the trigger-pull.”

Gardner, when given the opportunity to say any last words, replied “I do not, no.” A black hood was then fastened over his head, and shortly thereafter the executioners followed a count down from five to two and then fired the shots that ended Gardner’s life.

Gardner was allowed to choose between the firing squad and lethal injection because he was sentenced to death before Utah eliminated the firing squad as an option in 2004. He told his lawyer he did it because he preferred it – not because he wanted the controversy surrounding the execution to draw attention to his case or embarrass the state.

In the end, good riddance to bad rubbish.

However, for such a retro death penalty talk about your new age of commuication way to communicate the death sentence. After Gardner was put to death by firing squad, it was tweeted on Twitter.

Shortly after midnight in the US state of Utah, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff picked up his Apple iPhone, opened up a Twitter “app” on his handset and began tweeting.

But Mr Shurtleff’s 134-character composition was no ordinary post. This was not a piece of miscellany from the 53-year-old’s home life, a link chosen to amuse or interest his followers, nor even a political prod at his Democratic rivals.

Instead, Mr Shurtleff used Twitter to announce that most important of all things: the death of a human being, convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner.