Executed
Ronnie Lee Gardner
Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad in Utah on June 18, 2010, and he was the third person put to death that way in the modern era. A year later, his family gathered on land in Box Elder County that they hope will become a farm for troubled youths, an idea Gardner himself had raised while trying to avoid execution. His brother Randy organized the gathering and said the project is moving slowly, and the family said the past year had been hard, especially for Gardner's children. The family had made public appeals to spare his life, and those appeals are the family's account of what they sought.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Utah state execution.