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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Department of Corrections is clarifying what staffers who participate in the scheduled execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner will be given.
It was reported the corrections department is planning a commemorative coin for staff members who take part in the execution.
Department spokesman Steve Gehrke said in the past, those who've played a role in an execution have been given service ribbons for going above their normal call of duty. The difference this time is there will be no ribbons. Instead, many are likely to receive a coin.
The Deseret News reported the Utah Department of Corrections was planning a memento for the planned execution of convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner. But it's a coin that Gehrke said will be put out on an annual basis and won't make reference to any specific event.
"We want to recognize staff for the time they've put in or the overtime and the special duties they put in," said Gehrke. "But, no, we don't want to do anything that's directly tied to the execution or give the community the sense that we're rewarding people for carrying out an execution."
A display of commemorative pins now in a storage room at the corrections department offices includes pins for work on past executions. Staff have earned the pins over the years for various acts of service beyond their ordinary daily duties.
Gehrke said people who work in corrections in Utah know that participating in an execution is potentially a part of their job. "It's a very serious process that we take very seriously, and we'll do our jobs," he said.
Third District Judge Robin Reese signed the death warrant for Gardner, 49, on Friday. The execution, which will be Utah's first this century, is scheduled for June 18.
Gardner's attorneys are still working to appeal the execution warrant.
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Story compiled with contributions from Marc Giauque and Andrew Adams.
