Inmate's death-row appeal is rejected by federal judge

A federal judge has rejected an appeal by death-row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner, ruling that his conviction was not held together by one keystone word.

In two rulings issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell dismissed all of Gardner's claims to overturn his conviction for the 1985 courthouse shooting of attorney Michael Burdell. Campbell also noted that one poorly worded jury instruction during Gardner's murder trial did not sway a jury to find him deserving of the death penalty.

Having already exhausted his state appeals the recent decisions puts Gardner one step closer to exhausting his federal options and one step closer to an execution date.

In his latest appeal, Gardner claims the jury was not instructed in the definition of the word "knowingly" as an element in proving him guilty of capital murder.

"It appears that an error did occur, because 'knowingly' was not properly defined," Campbell states in one decision. "But Mr. Gardner, given the instructions as a whole and the overwhelming evidence in this case, has not established harm."

Campbell pointed out that the jury had the option of finding Gardner guilty of non-capital "depraved indifference" murder but chose not to, given the weight of the evidence against him.

In her second ruling, Campbell dismissed several other appeals including a claim for ineffective counsel.

Last January, the Utah Supreme Court rejected Gardner's claim, finding the "knowingly" claim was barred from consideration because it had not been raised in his original appeal back in 1995. Campbell said she was willing to hear the issue but then determined it lacked merit.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Thomas Brunker said Gardner has the option to appeal Campbell's decisions to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and then to the U.S. Supreme Court, which rarely hears capital appeals. After that, Brunker said Gardner's only option is to ask the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to commute his sentence before an execution date is set.

Gardner, 46, is on death row for shooting Burdell and wounding a bailiff during a botched escape attempt from the Salt Lake County courthouse in 1985. Gardner was wounded by a bailiff's bullet during the melee.

Recently, Gardner complained to Campbell that he was being tortured by prison officials by withholding his medication to treat his chronic arthritis. During a hearing last month, Gardner told Campbell via phone conference from the prison that he was in a great amount of pain and cannot sleep.

Campbell has appointed an attorney to help Gardner work with state prison officials to resolve the situation. Prison officials say Gardner is being treated in a humane manner. At one point, Gardner said he wanted to simply drop his appeals because of his arthritis.

Gardner's attorney Andrew Parnes said Gardner will take his case to the 10th Circuit. "I spoke with Ronnie this morning, and we're prepared to proceed to the 10th Circuit," Parnes said, adding he believes they can convince the appellate court to grant Gardner a new sentence.

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