Ronnie Lee Gardner is 1 of 2 death row inmates in 'Super Max'

UTAH STATE PRISON — In 1998 it seemed, at least momentarily, that Ronnie Lee Gardner was ready to give up his fight to avoid execution.

The reason, he claimed, was because he could no longer stand being locked up in a small prison cell 23 hours a day.

"I don't want to die," he told the Deseret News in May 1998. "I have a lot to live for if I could help somebody … but under these circumstances, it's just not worth being here tomorrow."

Less than a month later, however, Gardner opted to withdraw his petition for a speedy execution.

At the Utah State Prison, the highest security unit is called Uinta 1. It's one of eight sections in the Uinta facility that houses several hundred inmates. The building also includes the death row program. "Super Max," or Uinta 1, is reserved for inmates that either need protection or have been determined to be troublemakers.

In prison, one way to control inmates is by allowing them privileges for good behavior. Those in Super Max have lost their privileges. Currently, there are two death row inmates in Super Max — Troy Kell and Gardner. The other eight on death row live in another Uinta unit.

Kell was convicted of murder in Nevada and sentenced to life in prison. He was transferred to Utah's Gunnison facility, however, after problems with other inmates arose while he was in prison in Nevada. While in Gunnison, he stabbed fellow inmate Lonnie Blackmon 67 times, killing him.

In 1998, Department of Corrections officials moved Gardner into Super Max following a string of behavior problems. In 1990, he barricaded the door in the prison visiting area, holding a SWAT team at bay while he had sex with his girlfriend. In 1994, Gardner got drunk from an alcoholic brew he concocted and stabbed inmate Richard "Fatts" Thomas six times.

The cells on Utah's death row are approximately 6 feet by 12 feet. Inmates are housed individually, and each cell contains a stainless steel toilet, sink and mirror, and a hard bunk, thin mattress and small window. If they can afford it, they can even have a television.

Prisoners in Super Max are only allowed out of their cells for one hour a day and cannot have contact with other inmates.