Corrections creating commemorative coin for Ronnie Lee Gardner execution

DRAPER — They sit forgotten and dusty in a storage room on the top floor of the Utah Department of Corrections' administration building that overlooks the state prison.

Once on display in the lobby of the nearby Fred House Academy, the three shadowbox frames contain rows of pins earned by Corrections staff over the years for "service beyond their ordinary daily duties."

One pin recognizes those who developed the prison's medical master plan. Others acknowledge those who helped apprehend escaped inmates, transferred prisoners from Utah to Texas or quelled a prison riot.

And then there are the pins that represent participation in the execution of a condemned man.

But no pin will be issued to commemorate Ronnie Lee Gardner's execution, which is scheduled to occur June 18.

Instead, Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke said, officials will create a special coin that will be presented to staff members who play any role in carrying out the execution.

"The staff preferred something a little more modern than the ribbons," Gehrke said. "Since people don't walk around displaying those anyway, we're switching to a coin."

Third District Judge Robin Reese issued an execution warrant for Gardner Friday. Gardner, 49, has been sentenced to die for killing attorney Michael Burdell and severely wounding Salt Lake County sheriff's bailiff George "Nick" Kirk while trying to escape from the old Salt Lake County courthouse in 1985.

Recognizing the extraordinary efforts of staff members with metal pins began when Gary DeLand served as executive director of Corrections.

"There's nothing unusual about them," said DeLand, who held the top Corrections post from 1985 to 1992. "We did them for every special assignment people were put in."

During his tenure, DeLand oversaw the lethal-injection executions of Dale Pierre Selby and Gary Arthur Bishop. Pins denoting those executions, and the executions of William Andrews and John Albert Taylor, are all in the shadowboxes that are now relegated to the storage room.

Richard Billings, whose law enforcement and corrections career spans nearly 40 years, participated in the executions of Selby, Bishop, Andrews and Taylor during his time as a member and later commander of the Department of Corrections SWAT team. He has a pin from each execution.

"It wasn't something I sought out or pursued," Billings told the Deseret News. "I think (the pins were) just Mr. DeLand's way of showing his appreciation and acknowledgment for these particular tasks."

"Just because somebody has one doesn't mean that they were a (firing squad) shooter," he added. "They could have simply been on duty providing extra security."

For three of the executions, Billings' chief job with the SWAT teams was to provide that "extra security."