“I think that you have to look at what's the penalty. We as a society have said that certain crimes, heinous crimes such as the murder of somebody, [are punished by death], I would like to actually increase the death penalty to apply to aggravated sexual assault of a child.... There are certain things that I think you are not going to rehabilitate somebody, you're going to stick them in a correctional facility for the rest of their lives. You are going to put guards in danger sometimes trying to deal with these people. I think that the proper thing to do is to permanently terminate this person, remove them from society permanently."- Paul Ray, Utah House of Representatives
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Gary
Herbert
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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill Monday (March 23, 2015) that would
allow the state to perform executions by firing squad if lethal injection drugs
are unavailable.
We have
watched them both fight for justice and the death penalty in Nebraska and want them
to know that they have encouraged victims' families and leaders worldwide. We
honor and respect them. We hope that more judges and government officials will
follow their courageous character. Both Gary Herbert and Paul Ray will received
the Rayner
Goddard Act of Courage Award from the comrades of Unit 1012.
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/utah-governor-gary-herbert-defends-gruesome-firing-squad-executions-1493263
Utah: Governor Gary Herbert defends
'gruesome' firing squad executions
March 24, 2015 09:33 GMT
Utah governor Gary Herbert said it was a legal obligation to carry out executions which have been sanctioned by juries. Critics said firing squads were an "embarrassment" to Utah.
Firing squads shall be used as a
second-choice execution method in the event of supply shortages of lethal
drugs, despite Herbert admitting that they are "a little bit
gruesome".
A spokesman for Herbert said: "We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued."However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch."
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Paul
Ray
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Brother of executed killer causes ruckus in House over death penalty
bill
March 10,
2016
SALT LAKE
CITY — The brother of executed killer Ronnie Lee Gardner was detained by police
Thursday night after storming into the House gallery to protest lawmakers' lack
of action on a proposal to repeal the death penalty.
Randy
Gardner was shouting at legislators and displaying large photos of his
brother's autopsy before being detained by the Utah Highway Patrol about 8:45
p.m. Ronnie Lee Gardner was the most recent inmate to be executed in Utah. He
died by firing squad on June 18, 2010.
SB189
passed the Senate earlier this month but stalled in the House.
Early
Thursday afternoon Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, gathered families of victims of
death row inmates who had come to the Capitol to speak against SB189 and told
them the bill had been pulled. House leadership, Ray said, had assured him it
would not be heard in the final hours of the 2016 legislative session.
Nathan
Coats, husband of Linae Tiede Coats, a kidnapping victim and eyewitness in the
murder of her mother and her grandmother by current death row inmate Von Lester
Taylor, teared up as he heard the news.
Coats said
death penalty repeal is a decision that needs to be deliberate and unhurried,
not just in the last few days of an already short, 45-day legislative session.
SB189's
sponsor, Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said Thursday the bill was
"still alive." The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Eric Hutchings,
R-Kearns, said he did not know if it would be heard by the end of the day, but
as far as he knew, SB189 had not been pulled.
Ray said
Urquhart had pulled the bill. When told Urquhart said he didn't, Ray said,
"Maybe he didn't pull the bill, but it ain't coming up on the board."
Ray said he
had the votes needed to defeat the bill rather than substitute it with
legislation that would add new capital crimes.
The
Clearfield Republican also drafted a substitute bill that would not abolish the
death penalty but would expand the list of capital offenses to include
homicides as a result of human trafficking, human trafficking of a child, and
aggravated human trafficking.
Asked if
the sponsor had pulled Urquhart's bill, House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan,
R-Taylorsville, said, "Yes. You really ought to talk to Sen. Urquhart
about that. He just said the House won't hear the bill. He said we don't need
to take time in our caucus, we don't need to hear the bill on the floor. So
we'll honor that request."
The death
penalty issue was on the printed agenda for Thursday's House GOP caucus, but
members were told it would not be discussed.
Senate
President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said the state needs to get rid of
capital punishment or find a way to reduce the time and money spent on appeals.
"The
way we're using the death penalty here in Utah, it doesn't make sense to even
have it," he said, adding he doesn't believe it's a deterrent. "It
doesn't help the victims in their healing to have it stretched out for 20 years
or even longer."
Niederhauser
said even though the Senate passed Urquhart's bill, there's more discussion to
be had on the issue.
House
Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he was disappointed the death penalty bill
did not advance. Hughes said earlier this session he has "quietly"
been an opponent of the death penalty for some time because "giving your
government the power to execute its citizenry is more than I'm comfortable
with."
Hughes said
Thursday that believes a vote on the bill in the House would have been close.
"I
think that's a tough vote. That's an emotional one. It's inherently a difficult
bill to pass," the speaker said, especially on the final day of the
session. "It was not a slam-dunk defeat. But it wasn't necessarily a
slam-dunk victory. It was close."
Hughes said
he saw the bill as an opportunity to have a thorough discussion on the death
penalty.
"I
think this was lightning in a bottle in some ways," he said. "That's
why I am disappointed."
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The Firing Squad in Indonesia.
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Gov. Gary
Herbert said he is pro-death penalty and believes the majority of Utahns are,
too, despite concerns about the process.
"We've
always taken the position in Utah that it should be done rarely, only for the
most heinous of crimes, and that's how it's been implemented here,"
Herbert said.
Herbert
said he was made aware of the protest in the House gallery.
"It's
a tough issue and it's emotional. Again, I heard (the protester said), 'He
murdered my brother.' He obviously doesn't know the definition of murder.
That's too bad," the governor said.
Contributing:
Lisa Riley Roche, Dennis Romboy
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