Attorney Michael Burdell was shot to death at a Utah courthouse in 1985 . Burdell would have opposed the death penalty for his killer , friends and family say . `` There is absolutely no question about this in my mind . '' Ronnie Lee Gardner , in court for a hearing in a murder case , was trying to escape . He had been convicted of killing two people with an axe before he killed himself.
Attorney Michael Burdell was shot to death at a Utah courthouse in 1985 . Burdell would have opposed the death penalty for his killer , friends and family say . Ronnie Lee Gardner , in court for a hearing in a murder case , was trying to escape . He had been convicted of killing two people with an axe before he killed himself.