Family members of the victim whom Ronnie Lee Gardner killed in Utah are now asking that his life be spared. Gardner’s attorneys have requested a clemency hearing and the family members of the victim, Michael Burdell, would be called to testify in favor of sparing Gardner’s life. Gardner has chosen to be executed by firing squad. “Knowing Michael, as I did, he would not want Ronnie Lee to be executed,” said Donna Nu, Burdell’s former girlfriend at a court hearing recently. “Further, he would not want to be the reason Ronnie Lee is executed.” Nu noted that Burdell, who was a pacifist, served in Vietnam but refused to carry a gun. Burdell’s father and another friend would also testify for Gardner. At the time of his death, Michael Burdell served as an attorney helping poor people at the courthouse.
(N. Carlisle, “Gardner fights to stave off execution,” Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 2010). See also Victims and New Voices.
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