<Tr> <Th> Motive </Th> <Td> Robbery, Escape </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Conviction (s) </Th> <Td> Robbery--February 1980 Burglary, escape--1981 Murder (Guilty Plea)--June 1985 Capital Murder--October 22, 1985 </Td> </Tr> <P> Ronnie Lee Gardner (January 16, 1961--June 18, 2010) was an American criminal who received the death penalty for murder in 1985, and was executed by a firing squad by the state of Utah in 2010 . 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 . </P> <P> 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 the death penalty for the second . The state adopted more stringent security measures as a result of the incident at the courthouse . While held at Utah State Prison, Gardner was charged with another capital crime for stabbing an inmate in 1994 . However, that charge was thrown out by the Utah Supreme Court because the victim survived . </P>

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