Ronnie Lee Gardner (1961–2010) was an American felon who received the death penalty for murder in 1985 and was executed by a firing squad by the state of Utah. In 1984 he killed a bartender during a robbery in Salt Lake City, and the next year killed an attorney in an unsuccessful escape attempt. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first murder and received the death penalty for the second. In a series of appeals, defense attorneys presented mitigating evidence of the troubled upbringing of Gardner, who had spent nearly his entire adult life in incarceration. His legal team took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene. His execution at Utah State Prison, the first to be carried out by firing squad in the U.S. in 14 years, became a focus of media attention in June 2010. Gardner stated that he sought this method of execution because of his Mormon background. On the day before his execution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement clarifying its position on the issue of blood atonement of individuals. The case also attracted debate over capital punishment and whether Gardner's difficult childhood had destined him for a life of violence.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Lee_Gardner
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
By royal decree, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was established to be the military force maintained by the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Netherlands_East_Indies_Army
1876:
Alexander Graham Bell made his first successful bi-directional telephone call, saying, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_the_telephone
1965:
Thomas Playford (pictured), Premier of South Australia, left office after 27 years, the longest term of any democratically elected leader in the history of Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Playford_IV
1975:
Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnam began its final push for victory over South Vietnam with an attack on Ban Me Thuot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ban_Me_Thuot
2005:
Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, announced his resignation following widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_Chee-hwa
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
normothermic: (medicine) Having a normal body temperature. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/normothermic
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time. --Friedrich Schlegel https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schlegel