News Release on upcoming execution

DRAPER, Utah — On Friday, April 23, 3^rd District Judge Robin Reese signed a death warrant in the case of the State of Utah vs. Ronnie Lee Gardner. The Utah Department of Corrections is moving forward with plans to carry out the Court’s order in compliance with long-standing Department policy. The Department will make every effort to minimize any anxiety and negative impacts on the family and friends of both the victims and the condemned. Department staff will display appropriate levels of professionalism, restraint and courtesy at all stages of the process.

In accordance with Utah law, Ronnie Lee Gardner has elected to be executed by firing squad. It is anticipated that the Court’s order will be carried out shortly after midnight on June 18, 2010.

Below is information, as specified in state statute and Department policy, related to carrying out an execution by firing squad. This information is provided to address common questions the Department is receiving from members of the news media and other interested parties in light of the recent Court action.

Witnesses

No one will be required to witness the execution, nor will anyone attend as a matter of right. No person under the age of 18 will be permitted to attend. All witnesses will sign release forms, undergo searches, and will be ushered in and out of staging areas and witness rooms. Witnesses may include:

· Prosecutor or deputy prosecutor working for the county where the offense was committed

· No more than two law-enforcement officials from the county where the offense was committed

· The state’s Attorney General or a designated deputy

· Religious representation

· Friends or relatives designated by the condemned, not exceeding five

· No more than five close relatives of the deceased victim(s)

· Selected pool media witnesses

· Utah Department of Corrections staff or personnel from allied agencies as deemed necessary

Protests

The Department of Corrections has specific policies in place that seek to maximize movement through the general prison environs during an execution, while also securing the facility and all those involved in the process. The Department will provide an opportunity for demonstrators to express their opinions, whether in favor or against capital punishment, as long as they do so in a lawful manner. Additional details regarding the designated staging locations will be released as the date approaches.

Prosecution

The Department of Corrections and its allied agencies will arrest and encourage prosecution of anyone who in any way attempts to document the death of the condemned via audio, video, or any other means. The Department will also seek to prosecute those found to be trespassing or entering the secured property without proper permission and clearance. Anyone taking part in unlawful demonstrations, unlawfully attempting to disrupt the execution, or threatening or terrorizing those involved in the execution process will likewise be subject to possible prosecution – including inmates being disruptive, assaultive, etc.

Condemned Choices

The condemned may request up to five individuals to witness the execution, including legal and religious representatives, friends and family. The Department has discretion whether to grant the request. The condemned will be contacted by Department officials for instructions on how to dispose of his personal property and any funds remaining in his inmate account.

Organ donation is not an option for condemned inmates.

The condemned will be offered a last meal. The request will be granted at the discretion of Department of Corrections officials. The last meal will be prepared at the prison facility by Corrections personnel. Alcohol will not be served or used in the cooking of the meal.

The condemned will have access to religious and legal representation, and will be given an opportunity to offer any last words prior to execution of the death warrant.

Execution Chamber

The execution will take place at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah. The facility’s execution chamber was completed in 1998. It has been used once – for a lethal injection execution in the 1999 case of State of Utah vs. Joseph Mitchell Parsons.

The scheduled execution will be the first performed by firing squad in this permanent chamber. The room is approximately 20 feet by 24 feet and is fitted with curtains to cover the windows into the adjacent witness rooms. The windows are complete with bullet-proof, reflective glass to protect the witnesses from unintended ricochet, and to both physically and emotionally separate and protect the identities of the witnesses.

Firing Squad Logistics

Executioners are pre-selected by the Department of Corrections and must be law-enforcement certified in the State of Utah. The five law enforcers remain anonymous, and will be stationed behind a gun ported brick wall in the execution chamber. The executioners will be armed with .30-caliber rifles, four of which will be loaded with live rounds. The weapon carrying the blank round will be unknown to the law enforcers.

The condemned will be secured to a chair, and a target will be placed over his heart and a hood over his head. At the conclusion of the condemned’s last words, the execution team will commence fire. A physician will be on site to certify that death has occurred.

Prison Inmates Build Home for Two Utah Families

OREM – At first glance, the simple new rambler standing just off Orem’s State Street near 1200 North seems pretty basic. A wide carport protrudes from the speckless home, and a pair of support beams accents the front porch.

But the simplicity belies the marvel of the process. The home was built from the ground-up by an unlikely crew of Utah State Prison inmates.

Select groups of the most proven offenders working for Utah Correctional Industries were transported to the Orem work site each day from Gunnison and Draper in order to build the house. The crews consisted of former drug users, thieves and burglars – but all of the men now readily acknowledge their mistakes and tout a desire to start anew.

Inmate Ron Eckhardt has been locked up since 2002. He had no experience in construction when he began working on the Habitat For Humanity home in the second week of January. But Eckhardt was willing to learn, and by the time the home was built, he could roof and side a house.

“These are going to be some good skills that I plan on using when I get out,” said Eckhardt, noting he’s slated for a November parole date and would like to start a home buying and selling business when he gets out. “This whole experience has prepared me for life back in society.”

Eckhardt said he was shocked the first time he was released from the confines of the heavy prison doors, handcuffs and barbed-wire fences for the work program.

“It was weird,” Eckhardt said, adding that it was nice to get away from the everyday grind of prison lifestyle. “But we earn these privileges. We’ve earned our way to that position.”

Inmate Kevin Strong agreed: “It’s pretty cool that they trust me – and that I can be trusted.”

Strong said he has learned several odds and ends on the construction site. He expects to take up plumbing or become an electrician when he is released at the end of November.

“I’m sick of this old life, I want to change and stay straight,” he said referring to his two prison sentences and his probationary terms. “Being motivated and getting a job is the biggest challenge when you get out. But I want to use these trade skills I’ve learned in order to do that.”

Inmate Jason Nyborg said he learned essentially every construction skill there is to know as he built the home. And, he joked, “I forgot I was in [prison] for the day – at least until that sack lunch came.”

The 31-year-old eventually wants to get an apprenticeship and become a master electrician. He said getting out in the community bit-by-bit helped him feel less prone to be anxious and jumpy. The steady work evaluations prepared him for a real-world job, and the meager $1 an hour pay allowed him to save a little cash. He hopes that will allow him to make ends meet until he lands a steady job after he paroles in May.

Like the other offenders on the job, Nyborg praised his UCI supervisors, calling them “mentors.”

“It’s been good working with them,” he said. “I’ve been blessed.”

And UCI REACH boss Kelly Willey returned the praise.

“Most of these guys just made one mistake in life,” Willey said. “And they’re all getting back out at some point.”

In fact, one of the concrete pourers in particular who showed up on the day of the open house to finish the driveway went out of his way to thank the prison crew. That’s because just two years ago, the now stable and productive worker was just making his way in to the construction business as an inmate at UCI, according to site supervisor Wessley Andreason

“He was really working hard and staying clean. He had a sense of accomplishment having come and gone [through the prison system],” said Andreason. “You know, for a lot of these guys, no one has given them the time to teach them how to use tools and give them some responsibility. Sometimes we learn from our mistakes.”

Now, two of the many American families struggling to make ends meet in the midst of the rough recession will call the rambler “home.” Two mothers and two children were suffering health and credit issues and had been stuck in a substandard, unsafe apartment. They kicked in more than 500 hours of their own sweat equity during construction, and Habitat For Humanity funded the home through mortgages on other Habitat homes.

Habitat For Humanity Executive Director Kena Mathews praised the prison workers and everyone involved in building and funding the home. She said she never worries working with inmates, and the public doesn’t tend to mind either. She glowingly recounted a time when she noticed an elderly woman talking and laughing with an inmate worker.

Said Mathews: “This is just an example of good people coming together to provide for these families.”

What are UCI and REACH?

Utah Correctional Industries gives state inmates on-the-job training experience while providing products and services to the public. These jobs provide offenders the experience they need to lead healthy and productive lifestyles when they leave the prison and re-enter society. The jobs also maintain a safer prison environment by reducing idle time and hopelessness among the working inmates. Offenders must be hired by UCI, have a parole date within three years, and be among the most trustworthy inmates in the institution to earn the privilege of leaving the prison to work at off-site projects. UCI is completely self-supported, meaning any income generated by the goods and services goes back toward funding the program itself. UCI provides everything from furniture and clothing to signs and homes. All of the work either matches or exceeds industry standards.

The Rehabilitation through Affordably Constructed Housing (REACH) project builds homes for organizations such as Habitat For Humanity and the Utah Housing Corporation. The group often builds homes on-site at the prison and ships them out. REACH has built three homes for Habitat For Humanity and more than 30 for the Utah Housing Corporation.

Draper April 4 visitation update

April 3, 2010:

The Draper facility has been under a modified lockdown following a minor altercation in the Oquirrh facility on Friday. While the incident did not result in any serious injuries, officials proactively enacted precautionary measures to ensure there were no underlying threats that would extend to other portions of the facility. The modified lockdown did impact visitation, but Easter Sunday visitors should be able to see their inmates per the usual guidelines according to the usual April 4 visiting schedule. Escorts may accompany visits as a continued precaution.