June 17th, 2010 @ 5:54pm
By Jennifer Stagg
DRAPER -- While Ronnie Lee Gardner spends his last day in prison, his family says they're coming to terms with his impending execution.
Gardner's daughter and brother visited the prison Wednesday night, their final visit with Ronnie Lee. His daughter, Brandie, and brother, Randy, say they believe Ronnie Lee is a changed man since he first entered prison. They hope Ronnie Lee Gardner's life will serve as a warning to others going down the same path. Both said they hope the public has compassion for their situation, as they say they are victims as well.
Brandie was under the age of 2 when her father was sent to prison. On the day of his execution she tearfully spoke of how much she loves him.
"He told me that he loved me and to take care of my kids, and just to be strong and that he'll be around," she said.
Brandie Gardner can't remember life without her father in prison. Friday, she'll have to adjust to life after his execution.
"He'll always be with me," Brandie said. "He always has, he always will."
Both Brandie and Randy say they are not attending the execution tonight, at Gardner's request. They will spend the evening at a vigil celebrating Ronnie Lee's life -- one they say was misguided.
"He, in a lot of ways, believes in the death penalty," Randy said of his brother. "He also believes in ‘an eye for an eye.' His victims got killed by a bullet. Why shouldn't he get killed by a bullet?"
"No matter that we can't physically can't be there with him, I'll be there for him as close as I possibly can. I'll be praying," said Debbie, who asked we don't identify her beyond first name. She has maintained a more than 25-year relationship with Gardner -- the entire time he's been in prison.
She says they were lovers, but stopped their physical relationship. They referred to each other as "best friends." Thursday night, when he is put to death, she'll be remembering the good in a convicted murderer.
"Yesterday I got to talk to him, and I just told him that he knew that I loved him and I love him from the bottom of my heart, and our friendship was true and pure," Debbie said.
Ronnie Lee Gardner allowed to touch his family through prison bars
By Aaron Falk
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010 5:51 p.m. MDT
DRAPER — Friends and family of Ronnie Lee Gardner hugged and wiped tears from their eyes Thursday, as they gathered in a parking lot overlooking the Utah State Prison and waited for Gardner to die.
"It's hard to say goodbye to somebody you love," said Brandie Gardner, the convicted killer's daughter.
Brandie Gardner, the daughter of Ronnie Lee Gardner, speaks about her last meeting with father Ronnie Lee Gardner Thursday. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)Ronnie Lee Gardner met with his brother, his two children and a grandchild Wednesday night, before being moved into an observation cell to await his execution by firing squad in the first minutes of Friday morning.
The prison allowed the family to touch the inmate through bars.
"He's never touched no one but his lawyer's hand" since coming to prison, his brother, Randy Gardner said. "We kissed him goodbye."
Gardner's family said they would not witness the execution at the prisoner's request.
"He don't want that to be our last image," Randy Gardner said. "He don't want us to have nightmares and bad dreams."
"He's holding up probably better than we are," he added.
Gardner's daughter and brother said the man who killed John Melvyn Otterstrom in 1984 and Michael Burdell in 1985 had changed during his time in prison.
"The real Ronnie Lee Gardner is a good man — a good man who grew up with the state," Brandie Gardner said. "He's a good man. He's got a good heart."
Randy Gardner said he plans to carry out his brother's wishes to start an organic farm in Box Elder County to help troubled youth.
"Ronnie really has changed in the last 10 years," Randy Gardner said. "He knows he messed up and done wrong. And he knows he's going pay the ultimate price."
Gardner's family said they hoped Friday's execution would bring attention to the practice and help end capital punishment.
"I have a hard time believe we still execute people in the United States," Randy Gardner said.
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