Attorney Michael Burdell was sentenced to death at a Texas courthouse in 1985 . Burdell would have received 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 . Gardner is scheduled to die by firing squad on June 18 .
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 . Gardner is scheduled to die by firing squad on June 18 .