This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8641280.stm
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
US man chooses firing squad death | US man chooses firing squad death |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A convicted murderer in the US state of Utah has chosen to be executed by firing squad. | A convicted murderer in the US state of Utah has chosen to be executed by firing squad. |
When given a choice between lethal injection or being shot, Ronnie Lee Gardner told the judge: "I would like the firing squad, please." | When given a choice between lethal injection or being shot, Ronnie Lee Gardner told the judge: "I would like the firing squad, please." |
Of the 35 US states that have the death penalty, Utah is the only one to give firing squads as an option. | Of the 35 US states that have the death penalty, Utah is the only one to give firing squads as an option. |
Critics say the method is a relic from the state's Wild West past and should be abolished. | Critics say the method is a relic from the state's Wild West past and should be abolished. |
The judge in Salt Lake City set Gardner's execution date for 18 June, but Gardner's lawyer said he would appeal. | |
Correspondents say he may still petition the state parole board to commute his sentence to life imprisonment. | |
Famous last words | |
The 49-year-old convict killed a lawyer in a shootout while trying to escape from a courthouse in 1985. | |
He would be only the third man to be killed by firing squad since the Supreme Court allowed states to have the death penalty in 1976. | He would be only the third man to be killed by firing squad since the Supreme Court allowed states to have the death penalty in 1976. |
The first man to be executed after capital punishment was re-instated was Utah murderer Gary Gilmore. He famously said "Let's do it" before facing the bullets in 1977. | |
The second - John Albert Taylor - attracted huge media attention for his execution in 1996. | |
Should Gardner's scheduled death go ahead, it is likely to garner a similar media storm, the BBC's Madeleine Morris in Washington says. | |
Death row convicts in Utah were for decades allowed to choose their method of execution. | Death row convicts in Utah were for decades allowed to choose their method of execution. |
State legislators removed that choice in 2004 and made lethal injection the standard method - but inmates sentenced before then still have a choice. | State legislators removed that choice in 2004 and made lethal injection the standard method - but inmates sentenced before then still have a choice. |
Previous version
1
Next version