Ronnie Lee Gardner, the convicted double-murderer executed by a firing squad in Utah in the predawn hours Friday, died in a manner that even the state that killed him no longer wants to use.

Gardner, 49, was killed just past midnight after spending his final day reading a spy novel and watching the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He was strapped to a chair inside a state prison, his head hooded and a target affixed to his chest. Asked whether he had any final words, he said: “I do not. No.” Read the rest of the article from the Los Angeles Times “Murderer is executed by firing squad” here.