Facing firing squad, death row inmate asks for temporary stay

by Thomas C. Fox

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tfox@ncronline.org

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Hours away from his scheduled execution by firing squad, Utah death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner has asked Gov. Gary Herbert for a temporary stay, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Gardner, 49, faces execution by firing squad shortly after midnight Friday (2 a.m. ET) for a shooting death during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.

He would be only the third person to die by firing squad in the United States in 33 years.

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