Draper, Utah (CNN) -- Convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed early Friday by firing squad, the Utah Department of Corrections said.
Gardner, 49, is only the third person in 33 years to die by firing squad in the United States.
He was killed at 12:20 a.m. MST (2:20 a.m. ET), a Corrections Department spokesman said.
A hood was placed over Gardner's head and a paper target pinned to his chest. He was heavily restrained as a five-person firing squad took aim at the target and shot him, witnesses said.
Journalists who witnessed the shooting said it happend quickly. One reporter said she noticed that Gardner moved after he was shot.
"It was over pretty quickly," said Cheryl Worsley, a local radio reporter. "It was cleaner than I expected. It was fast. But he moved. He moved a little bit, and to some degree that bothers me."
Outside the prison in Draper Utah, there was a candlelight vigil attended by members of Gardner's family.
"He did things bad in the past, but now he realizes what he did and he changed the last couple of years," said his granddaughter Darian Gardner, breaking into tears. "I got to know him the last couple of years. It sucks when you have to say goodbye to someone that is like your best friend."
The execution came after Gardner's last-ditch efforts to save himself had failed.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request Thursday to temporarily stay the execution. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert rejected two appeals by Gardner's attorneys to stop the execution, saying he had every chance to present his case.
Gardner, 49, was convicted for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.
Gardner executed by firing squad - CNN.com
Gardner, 49, is only the third person in 33 years to die by firing squad in the United States.
He was killed at 12:20 a.m. MST (2:20 a.m. ET), a Corrections Department spokesman said.
A hood was placed over Gardner's head and a paper target pinned to his chest. He was heavily restrained as a five-person firing squad took aim at the target and shot him, witnesses said.
Journalists who witnessed the shooting said it happend quickly. One reporter said she noticed that Gardner moved after he was shot.
"It was over pretty quickly," said Cheryl Worsley, a local radio reporter. "It was cleaner than I expected. It was fast. But he moved. He moved a little bit, and to some degree that bothers me."
Outside the prison in Draper Utah, there was a candlelight vigil attended by members of Gardner's family.
"He did things bad in the past, but now he realizes what he did and he changed the last couple of years," said his granddaughter Darian Gardner, breaking into tears. "I got to know him the last couple of years. It sucks when you have to say goodbye to someone that is like your best friend."
The execution came after Gardner's last-ditch efforts to save himself had failed.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request Thursday to temporarily stay the execution. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert rejected two appeals by Gardner's attorneys to stop the execution, saying he had every chance to present his case.
Gardner, 49, was convicted for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.
Gardner executed by firing squad - CNN.com
