Ronnie Lee Gardner

DRAPER, Utah — Ronnie Lee Gardner's head, covered by a black hood, remained upright. His body sat straight in the chair to which it was strapped.

POLL: Is the death penalty appropriate justice for murderers?

LINK: Watch Shurtleff's statement of execution

After announcing the execution of convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he does not take the state's power to execute lightly.

DRAPER -- The U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday denied three appeals by a condemned Utah inmate set to be executed by firing squad.

SALT LAKE CITY — An appellate court in Denver has denied a stay of execution for a Utah inmate set to die by firing squad early Friday.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is set to execute a condemned killer by firing squad shortly after midnight Thursday, reviving an old West style of justice that hasn't been used for at least 14 years and that many criticize as archaic.

SALT LAKE CITY — Midnight in the firing squad chamber approaches for Ronnie Lee Gardner -- a self-described "nasty little bugger" -- whose childhood of neglect, drug-addiction and ever-escalating crime led to double murder by age 24 and a quarter-century waiting for his own execution.