Mark Edward Gardner

Case record: Mark Edward Gardner

Background

Mark Edward Gardner (c. 1956 – September 8, 1999) was executed at the age of 43 by lethal injection by the State of Arkansas. He was a murderer.

Gardner was also on parole for an armed robbery conviction.

He was under an arrest warrant out of Illinois for another armed robbery.

Some of the family's jewelry was found on Gardner when he was arrested.

Gardner told police that he had also killed a man in New York State.

At his trial, Gardner claimed that "demons" had made him do it.

Gardner was also known for confessing to repeatedly raping and beating a fellow Death Row inmate, Damien Echols, who had been convicted for the West Memphis Three murders.

The offence

Gardner was convicted of the December 12, 1985 murders of Joe and Martha Joyce and the rape and murder of their daughter, Sara Joyce McCurdy, in Sebastian County, Arkansas.

Joe Joyce had just returned home from a funeral.

Sara McCurdy had gone to her parents' home for lunch while her husband was away on Air National Guard duty.

The family was tied up and they were suffocated with tape that was placed over their mouths and noses.

Martha was found with a wire coat hanger around her neck.

Their house was ransacked and jewelry and a car was stolen.

Investigation

Trial

Gardner was sentenced to die for the Dec. 12, 1985 murder of three people in Sebastian County, Arkansas.

Gardner was convicted of murdering Joe Joyce, his wife Martha Joyce, and their adult daughter Sara Joyce McCurdy, and raping and murdering Sara.

Sentencing

Gardner was sentenced to die.

Gardner was the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death in 1999 in Arkansas.

Gardner was also the 20th person executed by the State of Arkansas since Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), after new capital punishment laws were passed in Arkansas and that came into force on March 23, 1973.

He was also the 569th person executed overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Arrest

Gardner was arrested, and some of the family's jewelry was found on him.

Execution

Gardner was executed by lethal injection in Arkansas on September 8, 1999.

Gardner was executed first because he had the lower inmate number (SK901) than Alan Willett (SK930).

The injection of a lethal drug was administered at 8:02 p.m. CDT, and he was pronounced dead at 8:15.

Gardner’s last words were "Blessed are those who are called to the Lord's supper. A never-ending feast awaits me. I love the Melanie Alberson family (his pastoral advisor) and I thank them very much."

Gardner's last meal was fried shrimp, grilled salmon, garden salad, and chocolate cake with a Coke.

The injection of a lethal drug was administered into his arm as he lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of Cummins Prison.

Gardner was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. EDT.

5 relatives of Gardner's victims watched him die on closed circuit television.

Related execution on the same day

Alan Willett was also executed on September 8, 1999 for the unrelated murders of Eric Willett and Roger Willett.

Alan Willett was executed just under an hour after Gardner.

Willet died at 10:15 p.m. EDT, 16 minutes after receiving the injection.

After a last meal, when asked if he had any last words, Willet responded, "None."

No relatives came to the prison to witness Willett's execution.

Timeline

• December 12, 1985 — Joe Joyce was murdered together with Martha Joyce; their daughter, Sara Joyce McCurdy, was raped and murdered in Sebastian County, Arkansas.
• September 8, 1999 — Mark Edward Gardner was executed by lethal injection in Arkansas.
• September 8, 1999 — Alan Willett was executed for unrelated murders on the same day.

Other details

The family was tied up and suffocated with tape placed over their mouths and noses.

Their house was ransacked, and jewelry and a car were stolen.

Gardner was convicted in a case involving the Dec.

Pope John Paul II made an earlier plea to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to commute the two death penalties into life prison sentences.

Huckabee decided not to intervene.

Death penalty opponents held vigils at several sites, including a small group outside the prison and another outside the governor's mansion in Little Rock.

Executions of more than one inmate on the same day were described as very rare among U.S. states, limited so far to Arkansas and South Carolina.

It was the 4th multiple execution in Arkansas since 1990.

South Carolina had carried out 1 double execution.