Gardner v. State

DURRANT, Associate Chief Justice:

INTRODUCTION

1 In 1985, Ronnie Lee Gardner was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. For the past twenty-five years, his execution has been stayed pending resolution of his state and federal post-conviction appeals. The most recent of those actions was finally resolved on March 8, 2010, when, after fifteen years of federal court review, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the decision of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 10, 2010, the State applied for an execution warrant so that it could carry out Mr. Gardner's…