Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Ronnie Lee Gardner

Ronnie Lee Gardner (January 16,1961 – June 18, 2010) was an American criminal who received thedeath penalty for killing a man during an attempted escape from acourthouse in 1985, and was executed by a firing squad by the stateof Utah in 2010. Gardner's case spent nearly 25 years in the courtsystem, prompting the Utah House of Representatives to introducelegislation to limit the number of appeals in capital cases.

In October 1984, Gardner killed MelvynJohn Otterstrom during a robbery in Salt Lake City. While being movedin April 1985 to a court hearing for the homicide, he fatally shotattorney Michael Burdell in an unsuccessful escape attempt. Convictedof two counts of murder, Gardner was sentenced to life imprisonmentfor the first count and received the death penalty for the second. The state adopted more stringent security measures as a result of theincident at the courthouse. While held at Utah State Prison, Gardnerwas charged with another capital crime for stabbing an inmate in1994. However, that charge was thrown out by the Utah Supreme Courtbecause the victim survived.

In a series of appeals, defenseattorneys presented mitigating evidence of the troubled upbringing ofGardner, who had spent nearly his entire adult life in incarceration. His request for commutation of his death sentence was denied in 2010after the families of his victims testified against him. Gardner'slegal team took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, whichdeclined to intervene.

The execution of Gardner at Utah StatePrison became the focus of media attention in June 2010, because itwas the first to be carried out by firing squad in the United Statesin 14 years. Gardner stated that he sought this method of executionbecause of his Mormon background. On the day before his execution,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statementclarifying its position on the issue of blood atonement ofindividuals. The case also attracted debate over capital punishmentand whether Gardner had been destined for a life of violence sincehis difficult childhood.

Personal background

Ronnie Lee Gardner was born in SaltLake City, Utah, and was the youngest of Dan and Ruth Gardner's sevenchildren. Dan was a heavy drinker who left the household to startanother family while Ronnie was a toddler; Dan and Ruth divorced whenRonnie was 18 months old. Six months later, Ronnie was foundmalnourished and wandering the streets alone in a diaper. Childwelfare workers filed a "failure to care" petitionand took him into custody, though they later returned him to hismother. Gardner's relationship with his father was tumultuous; Dandid not believe he was Gardner's biological father and frequentlytold his son of his belief. According to Gardner, he was raised by anolder sister, and was sexually abused by his siblings. Sometimes heand his sister Bonnie would run away and seek refuge in a "hobocamp." By the age of 10, Gardner was addicted to drugs andpermitted access to alcohol. He and his brother Randy were arrestedfor stealing cowboy boots and taken into juvenile detention. Gardnerrecalled with distress that his father Dan came to take his brotherRandy home and left him behind.

Early institutionalization

Gardner's mother married Bill Lucas,who had been incarcerated in Wyoming in 1968. The Gardner-Lucasfamily eventually had nine children. Gardner admired Lucas, who usedhis stepsons as lookouts while burglarizing homes. By his earlyteens, Gardner had been held in detention at a series ofinstitutions, including an involuntary commitment at Utah StateHospital in Provo. Gardner was small as a boy, and described that hehad to fight to defend himself and earn respect. As Gardner admitted,"I was a nasty little bugger."