Firing squad execution set for today in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah was to execute a condemned killer by firing squad early Friday, reviving a style of justice that hasn't been used for at least 14 years and that many criticize as archaic.

Barring the success of any final appeals, Ronnie Lee Gardner will be strapped into a chair, have a target pinned over his heart and die in a hail of bullets from five anonymous marksmen armed with .30-caliber rifles and firing from behind a ported wall.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals for a stay last night.

Earlier in the day, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver denied Gardner's petition, saying allegations of a conflict of interest by the Utah attorney general's office were without merit.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert also denied Gardner's request for a temporary stay, saying Gardner has had "a full and fair opportunity" to have his case considered.

After a visit with his family, Gardner was moved Wednesday night from his regular cell in a maximum security wing of the Utah State Prison to an observation cell, Department of Corrections officials said. He was allowed to see his attorney and clergy yesterday.

Gardner will be the third man killed by firing squad in the United States since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Although Utah altered its capital punishment law in 2004 to make lethal injection the default method, nine inmates convicted before that date, including Gardner, can still choose the firing squad instead. Gardner's attorney said the decision was based on preference, not a desire to embarrass the state or draw publicity to his case.

Gardner, 49, was sentenced to death for a 1985 capital murder conviction stemming from the fatal courthouse shooting of attorney Michael Burdell during an escape attempt. Gardner was at the court because he faced a 1984 murder charge in the shooting death of bartender Melvyn Otterstrom.

Gardner made a final effort to convince the parole board he was a changed man, speaking his desire to start a 160-acre organic farm and program for at-risk youth.