Ronnie Gardner
Ronnie Lee Gardner (born January 16, 1961 in Salt Lake City , Utah , † June 18, 2010 in Draper , Utah) was an American criminal, murderer and escape. He was one of the most dangerous offenders in Utah history and was executed by firing squad in 2010.
Events
Ronnie Lee Gardner first came to Utah State Prison for robbery in February 1980 . There he and a fellow inmate escaped from a department with a minimum security level in April 1981. The two men climbed the prison fence under the influence of drugs. Gardner was arrested again eleven days later. He had tried to kill an acquaintance of his wife, but was shot by him in self-defense. In another attempt to escape, he was placed between two security fences.
In August 1984, he escaped from the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City while under investigation. He had overpowered, beaten up and stolen a guard's service weapon, leaving the officer with 17 broken bones in his face. He then forced a medical student to drive him on his motorcycle to his apartment, where he stole clothes and left his hostage tied with shoelaces.
He committed his first murder on October 9, 1984. While under the influence of drugs, he robbed a tavern in Salt Lake City and shot dead Melvyn Otterstrom, a 37-year-old employee. He was accompanied in the crime by Darcy McCoy, an acquaintance of his cousin's wife. In November 1984 he was arrested after being informed about his cousin's home. Gardner has been charged with willful murder and other crimes related to his escape.
On April 2, 1985, two guards took him to the Metropolitan Hall of Justice in Salt Lake City, where his trial for the murder of Otterstrom was held. Darcy McCoy's sister, Carma Hainsworth, suddenly handed Gardner a gun. He was able to tear himself away and then fled to the archive rooms of the building, where he was hit in the chest during an exchange of fire with his guards. He shot 36-year-old criminal defense attorney Michael Burdell in the head while trying to reach an elevator. He died in the hospital about 45 minutes later. The bailiff George Kirk, who came to the rescue, was hit in the lower body by Gardner. The projectile penetrated the stomach, intestines and waist, severely injuring Kirk. Gardner then ran in front of the building, which was already surrounded by the police, and surrendered without resistance. George Kirk had been in constant pain since that day and died eleven years later from the effects of his gunshot wound.
In June 1985 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Melvyn Otterstrom. In October 1985 the jury found him guilty of the murder of Michael Burdell after roughly three hours of deliberation and sentenced him to death three days later. Carma Hainsworth was serving an eight-year prison sentence for helping her escape.
In October 1987, Gardner and other inmates barricaded the visitor room, broke through the partition and had sex with his visitor. In September 1994, while drunk, Gardner stabbed a fellow inmate in the neck, chest, back and arms. He survived seriously injured. Since Gardner was already sentenced to death, no charges were brought.
He spent nearly 25 years on Utah State Prison death row before being executed by firing squad in June 2010. He made no last words. He ate his last meal of steak, lobster, apple pie and vanilla ice cream while watching all parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Prisoners who were sentenced to death before 2004 can choose between lethal injection and shooting for the method of execution. Gardner made use of this rule in April 2010. It was the first execution of that year in Utah and the seventh since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. It was also only the third execution in the United States since 1976 that was carried out by firing squad. The last execution by shooting had occurred 14 years earlier.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marc Pitzke: Execution in Utah: "The firing squad, please" , spiegel.de, June 17, 2010.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gardner, Ronnie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gardner, Ronnie Lee |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American murderer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 16, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Salt Lake City , Utah |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 18, 2010 |
| Place of death | Draper, Utah |