Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Ketchum attorney in the spotlight

Andrew Parnes involved in Utah death penalty case

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By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Ronnie Lee Gardner

Ketchum attorney Andrew Parnes was a key news media source in the internationally publicized firing-squad execution last Friday morning of a 49-year-old Utah man.

Parnes was co-counsel for Ronnie Lee Gardner, put to death for killing an attorney in 1985 in an attempted escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse.

Parnes was quoted in numerous regional, national and international publications regarding the Gardner case. He told the BBC that Gardner was a changed man since the 1985 murder and deserved life in prison rather than execution.

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Parnes was quoted in the Deseret News as saying Gardner had a troubled upbringing, including physical and sexual abuse, neglect and drug addiction.

"We as a society didn't give him the benefit we give a lot of people," Parnes told the Deseret News the day before Gardner's execution. "He really is a changed person—he understands now what created him."

Parnes had worked on the Gardner case since 1998.

As a criminal defense attorney, Parnes specializes in appeals and post-conviction relief efforts in death sentence cases. During the past 25 years, he has handled numerous such cases in Idaho, Utah and California.

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com

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