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-News: Gardner's lawyers make late bid for guv to stop ex...
15 years ago
Lawyers for Ronnie Lee Gardner hand-delivered a letter to Gov. Gary Herbert on Thursday morning asking him to stall the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner.
In the letter, the attorneys requested Herbert to use his executive power to temporarily halt the execution, set for 12:05 a.m. Friday, until Gardner is awarded another commutation hearing.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied Gardner's petition for commutation in a three-page decision earlier this week.
"The board's brief and unexplained decision to ignore Mr. Gardner's final plea for mercy was made despite compelling evidence presented, which calls into question the appropriateness of Mr. Gardner's sentence of death," the letter says.
The letter alleges that Gardner did not get a fair hearing last week because a lawyer from the Utah Attorney General's Office was acting as legal adviser to the board -- which has the power to reduce the death sentence to life in prison without parole -- while other lawyers from the office were arguing for his execution.
That argument failed to sway U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell, who rejected a request this week to stay the execution. The five-member board on Monday announced its unanimous decision to reject Gardner's petition for clemency.
Angie Welling, spokeswoman for Gov. Herbert, said late Thursday morning that the governor was reviewing the letter but had not yet drafted a response.
The late Gov. Scott M. Matheson faced the same request in January 1977, as Utah was preparing to execute Gary Gilmore. Death-penalty opponents were urging him to grant a respite so the Board of Pardons and Parole could consider commutation for Gilmore, who was urging the execution to proceed. After much consideration, Matheson declined to grant the delay and Gilmore became the first person executed in the United States after a long moratorium.
In the letter, the attorneys requested Herbert to use his executive power to temporarily halt the execution, set for 12:05 a.m. Friday, until Gardner is awarded another commutation hearing.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied Gardner's petition for commutation in a three-page decision earlier this week.
"The board's brief and unexplained decision to ignore Mr. Gardner's final plea for mercy was made despite compelling evidence presented, which calls into question the appropriateness of Mr. Gardner's sentence of death," the letter says.
The letter alleges that Gardner did not get a fair hearing last week because a lawyer from the Utah Attorney General's Office was acting as legal adviser to the board -- which has the power to reduce the death sentence to life in prison without parole -- while other lawyers from the office were arguing for his execution.
That argument failed to sway U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell, who rejected a request this week to stay the execution. The five-member board on Monday announced its unanimous decision to reject Gardner's petition for clemency.
Angie Welling, spokeswoman for Gov. Herbert, said late Thursday morning that the governor was reviewing the letter but had not yet drafted a response.
The late Gov. Scott M. Matheson faced the same request in January 1977, as Utah was preparing to execute Gary Gilmore. Death-penalty opponents were urging him to grant a respite so the Board of Pardons and Parole could consider commutation for Gilmore, who was urging the execution to proceed. After much consideration, Matheson declined to grant the delay and Gilmore became the first person executed in the United States after a long moratorium.
