"Gardner's attorney asks high court to throw out death sentence," is the title of Pamela Manson's report in today's Salt Lake Tribune.
A lawyer for Ronnie Lee Gardner asked the state's highest court on Thursday to throw out his death sentence and halt his execution.
With just two weeks left before Gardner is slated to die, Andrew Parnes argued to the Utah Supreme Court that his client might have gotten a life sentence if adequate mitigating evidence had been presented to a trial jury years ago.
"Finality [of the case] is not the be-all and end-all," he said. "It's fairness."
Parnes is asking the Supreme Court to either impose a life sentence without parole or order a new sentencing hearing.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Brunker responded that Gardner has no constitutional right to bring that claim at this late date.
And:
The arguments Thursday were an appeal of the signing of the execution warrant. Gardner has a second case before the Supreme Court, which is an appeal of Reese's denial of his request for a new sentencing. That case, which asserts the same arguments on mitigating evidence and cruel and unusual punishment, is being briefed; no hearing has been set.
Gardner and his lawyers will make another last-ditch to save his life at a commutation hearing next week. The condemned man will ask the Board of Pardons and Parole to reduce his sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
The Deseret News has, "Execution looming, Ronnie Lee Gardner makes another plea to spare his life," by Aaron Falk.
Gardner's arguments also point to a lack of funding for a 1990 post-conviction petition. That appeal came before a change to state law, when defendants had to rely on pro-bono counsel. If Gardner's sentence remains unchanged, he "will stand alone as the only person executed after Utah emerged from the 'dark ages' of capital representation without any funding," his attorneys wrote in court documents.
After a judge denied Gardner's latest post-conviction claim last week, his attorneys filed an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
The defense lawyers also point to the belief of Burdell's friends and family that the attorney did not believe in the death penalty. In court documents, however, the state wrote, "Gardner's death sentence represents the price Gardner must pay for his injuries to society, not just to Burdell."
The AP filing is, "Utah's Supreme Court hears challenge of death warrant," by Jennifer Dobner, via the Durango Herald.
Gardner, 49, is set for execution June 18 and has elected to die by firing squad, rather than lethal injection.
Utah's Supreme Court has in the past upheld Gardner's conviction and sentence.
Chief Justice Christine Durham on Thursday said the five-member panel would take the arguments under advisement. It's unclear when the justices will rule, but a court spokeswoman said she understood a decision was expected quickly.
Thursday's hearing is one of just a few remaining legal avenues attorneys are pursing to halt the execution and get Gardner's sentence reduced to life in prison. A two-day commutation hearing before Utah's Board of Pardons and Parole is set for next week.
Earlier coverage of the case begins with this post.
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