Capital punishment in Utah

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Utah.

Utah was the first state to resume executions after the 1972–1976 national moratorium on capital punishment ended with Gregg v. Georgia, when Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in 1977. Utah is one of only three states to have ever carried out executions by firing squad, and one of only two to do so after the moratorium ended, the other being South Carolina.

History

John D. Lee was executed by firing squad in 1877 for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.

The spring 1850 garroting of Patsowits, a Ute, was the first recorded execution in the provisional State of Deseret.^[1] Utah Territory was established in September 1850, and it permitted condemned prisoners to choose between hanging and firing squad. In 1851, beheading was introduced as a third execution option.^[2] No prisoner chose this method and the option was eliminated in 1888.^[3] In 1955, Utah state lawmakers voted to introduce the electric chair; however, the state never used electrocution due to failure to provide appropriation.^[4] Forty-four executions occurred in the State of Utah and Utah Territory before the national moratorium in 1972;^[5] six were by hanging and 38 were by firing squad.^[6] In 1958, twenty-one-year-old Barton Kay Kirkham became the last prisoner to be hanged by the state of Utah.^[7] The last pre-moratorium execution in Utah took place on March 30, 1960.

A rally at the Utah State Capitol protests the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner.

In 1967, when the last pre-moratorium execution took place, Utah was the only remaining state to allow death row inmates to choose between firing squad and hanging.^[4][8] Utah attempted to reintroduce death penalty statutes during the moratorium but they were struck down by the 1972 United States Supreme Court decision in the case Furman v. Georgia.^[9] The state formally reinstated capital punishment on January 7, 1973,^[10] and the new death penalty statutes were approved by the United States Supreme Court with the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976. The reinstatement allowed Utah to move forward with the death sentences of Dale Selby Pierre and William Andrews for crimes committed in 1974 prior to the reinstatement of capital punishment. They were later executed in 1987 and 1992, respectively. On January 17, 1977, Utah became the first state to execute a prisoner after the moratorium ended: Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad,^[11] having selected that method over hanging. Lethal injection was introduced in 1980^[8] and in February of that year, the Utah State Legislature replaced the option of hanging with the option of lethal injection.^[12]

The first bill proposing to eliminate the firing squad option was introduced in the Utah House of Representatives in January 1996.^[13] In 2004, the legislature passed HB180, which removed the right of the condemned to choose the method of execution and left lethal injection as the only remaining option in the state.^[14][15] The abolition of the firing squad was not retroactive; three inmates on death row at Utah State Prison who chose this method of execution before the end of February 2004 were to be executed by firing squad under a grandfather clause.^[15] The execution of 49-year-old Ronnie Lee Gardner on June 18, 2010, was the state's third execution by firing squad since the capital punishment moratorium was lifted, and the country's first sanctioned shooting in 14 years.^[14]

Legislation signed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert in March 2015 restores the firing squad as a legal method of execution, requiring its use if the state is unable to obtain the necessary lethal injection drugs within 30 days of a scheduled execution.^[16][17]

Utah is the only state besides Nevada and South Carolina to have ever used the firing squad. As of July 2025, four inmates remain on death row following the execution of Taberon Honie and the overturning of Douglas Lovell's and Douglas Stewart Carter's death sentences by the Utah Supreme Court.^[18] The four remaining inmates currently on Utah's death row are Ralph Leroy Menzies, Michael Anthony Archuleta, Von Lester Taylor, and Troy Kell.^[19]

Method

The primary method of execution is lethal injection, however firing squad is also an alternative legal execution execution method of execution under Utah law. The firing squad is to be used if an inmate sentenced prior to 2004 affirmatively elected firing squad as their preferred method of execution or if, within 30 days of the scheduled execution date, the state cannot obtain the necessary substances to carry at the sentence by lethal injection for an inmate who was sentenced after 2004, or was sentenced prior to 2004 and either affirmatively elected lethal injection or declined to choose a preferred method of execution. ^[16][17]

The execution chamber in the former Utah State Prison. The gurney to the left is used for lethal injection, and the metal chair to the right is used for execution by firing squad. This facility was decommissioned in 2022 with the opening of the Utah State Correctional Facility, however the same gurney and the metal chair were moved to the similarly modelled new execution chamber.

Executions in Utah are currently performed at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, with the first execution being carried out in 2024 in the new execution chamber. Prior to July 2022, they were carried out at the Utah State Prison in Draper.^[20] Because the ethics standards of the American Medical Association forbid physician involvement in executions, other healthcare professionals including paramedics and nurses perform executions in Utah.^[21] Paramedics and nurses, however, are also forbidden from participation in executions by their own professional organizations' ethics codes.^[22][23][24] The prison protects the anonymity of professionals involved in executions, making it impossible for professional organizations to impose sanctions.^[25]

Capital crimes

Under Utah law, aggravated murder is the only crime punishable by death. It is defined in Utah Code § 76-5-202 and includes the intentional or knowing killing of another individual under any of the following circumstances:

1. While in Custody or with Prior Offenses

• The offender committed the murder while confined in a jail or prison.^[26]
• The offender had previously been convicted of aggravated murder, attempted murder, or similar violent felonies — including qualifying out-of-state offenses.^[27]

2. Multiple Victims or Collateral Risk

• The act involved killing multiple victims or attempting to kill more than one person.^[28]
• The offender created a great risk of death to others besides the intended victim.^[29]

3. During the Commission of Other Felonies

• The murder occurred during the commission or attempted commission of serious felonies, including:
  • Rape, rape of a child, object rape, sodomy
  • Aggravated robbery, burglary, arson, kidnapping
  • Aggravated child abuse, child torture, or aggravated sexual assault^[30]
• The murder occurred during the abuse or desecration of a human body.^[31]

4. Obstruction of Justice or Escape

• The offender acted to avoid or prevent arrest or escape custody.^[32]
• The killing was committed to prevent witness testimony, retaliate against legal participation, or disrupt government functions.^[33]

5. Targeted Victims

Note: The victim's official role must be the motive for the killing.

• The victim was a public official or candidate for office, and was killed because of that status.^[34]
• The victim held (or previously held) a role such as:
  • Peace officer
  • Executive officer, jailer, or prosecutor
  • Firefighter, emergency responder, or judge
  • Juror, parole officer, or court official
  • Private security officer protecting people or property

and was killed because of their official duties.^[35]

• The victim was under 14 years old and not an unborn child.^[36]
• The victim was held as a hostage, shield, or for ransom.^[37]

6. Especially Heinous or Contractual Murders

• The act involved physical torture, serious abuse, or other depraved conduct.^[38]
• The offender mutilated or dismembered the body in a depraved manner.^[39]
• The killing was done for pecuniary gain or under a murder-for-hire agreement.^[40]

7. Methods of Killing

• The offender used a bomb, explosive, or weapon of mass destruction.^[41]
• The killing was done to target a law enforcement officer — an act of violence motivated by political or social goals.^[42]
• The murder occurred during the hijacking or seizure of a public vehicle.^[43]
• The offender administered poison or another lethal substance.^[44]

8. Felony Murder with Reckless Indifference

• The offender, as a major participant in certain felonies, caused a death with reckless indifference to human life. Applies to felonies such as:
  • Child kidnapping, child rape, object rape of a child, sodomy on a child, child torture, or aggravated sexual abuse of a child.^[45]

Legal process

Under Utah law, the death penalty may only be imposed for aggravated murder if the prosecution files a formal notice of intent to seek the death penalty.^[46]

Notice of intent

• Must be filed within 60 days after arraignment
• May be extended by written stipulation or court finding of good cause^[47]
• No plea to a lesser charge may be accepted without the prosecutor’s consent during this period^[48]

Limits on capital sentencing

• If the state does not file notice, or if the defendant was under 18 at the time of the offense, the charge becomes a noncapital first-degree felony^[49]

Special mitigation

• If proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is reduced to murder or attempted murder^[50]

Affirmative defense

• If the defendant had a reasonable but mistaken belief that their conduct was legally justified, the prosecution must disprove the defense beyond a reasonable doubt^[51]

Sentencing procedure and clemency

• The jury must unanimously find aggravating factors and recommend the death penalty
• If the jury deadlocks on sentencing, life imprisonment is imposed
• Only the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole may grant clemency

See also

• List of people executed in Utah
• List of death row inmates in Utah
• Crime in Utah