Ronnie Lee Gardner
Ronnie Lee Gardner received the death penalty for killing a man during an attempted escape from a courthouse in 1985. In October 1984, Gardner killed Melvyn John Otterstrom during a robbery in Salt Lake City. While being moved in April 1985 to a court hearing for the homicide, he fatally shot attorney Michael Burdell in an unsuccessful escape attempt. Convicted of two counts of murder, Gardner was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first count and received theDeath penalty for the second. He was executed by a firing squad by the state of Utah in 2010.
About Ronnie Lee Gardner in brief
Ronnie Lee Gardner received the death penalty for killing a man during an attempted escape from a courthouse in 1985. In October 1984, Gardner killed Melvyn John Otterstrom during a robbery in Salt Lake City. While being moved in April 1985 to a court hearing for the homicide, he fatally shot attorney Michael Burdell in an unsuccessful escape attempt. Convicted of two counts of murder, Gardner was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first count and received theDeath penalty for the second. He was executed by a firing squad by the state of Utah in 2010. The execution of Gardner at Utah State Prison became the focus of media attention in June 2010, because it was the first to be carried out by firing squad in the United States in 14 years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement clarifying its position on the issue of blood atonement of individuals the day before his execution. The case also attracted debate over capital punishment and whether Gardner had been destined for a life of violence since his difficult childhood. Gardner’s case spent nearly 25 years in the court system, prompting the Utah House of Representatives to introduce legislation to limit the number of appeals in capital cases. His request for commutation of his death sentence was denied in 2010 after the families of his victims testified against him. According to Gardner, he was raised by an older sister, and was sexually abused by his siblings. Gardner was small as a boy, and described that he had to fight to defend himself and earn respect.
Gardner and his brother Randy were arrested for stealing cowboy boots and taken into juvenile detention. Gardner recalled with distress that his father Dan did not believe he was Gardner’s biological father and frequently told his son of his belief. Gardner admired Bill Lucas, who used his stepsons as lookouts while burglarizing homes. Gardner said his time in foster care was the most stable period of his life. Gardner had a daughter in May 1977 and a son in February 1980 with Debra Bischoff. Gardner continued to go to the industrial school, where his mother lived, until he was convicted in May 1980 of murdering a man in a carjacking. Gardner described himself as a ‘nasty little bugger’ and said that he worked as a prostitute while living with Jack Statt, who psychologists say fit the pedophile profile of his most stable life. He said that Statt was a ‘good man’ and he tried to help him out of rough situations he was in that he was never put in. Gardner admitted that he thought life was normal, and that he believed that that was how life was supposed to be for him. He and his sister Bonnie would run away and seek refuge in a \”hobo camp. Six months later, Ronnie was found malnourished and wandering the streets alone in a diaper. Gardner’s relationship with his father was tumultuous; Dan was a heavy drinker who left the household to start another family while Ronnie was a toddler; Dan and Ruth divorced when Ronnie was 18 months old.
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This page is based on the article Ronnie Lee Gardner published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
