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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- State attorneys are urging a Utah judge to reject what may be a final court appeal from death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner.
Attorneys for Gardner have asked 3rd District Court Robin Reese to refuse to sign a warrant for the 49-year-old inmate's execution. They say putting Gardner to death after 25 years of court battles amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
But in a court filing Friday, state attorneys say Gardner has provided no legal reason against executing the death sentence.
Gardner was sentenced to death for the April 1985 courthouse shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a failed escape attempt.
A hearing is set for Friday.
If Reese signs the warrant, the execution must happen between 30 and 60 days later.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
