Mark Shurtleff

“The message would have been seen by the 7,000 or so users who 'follow' Mr Shurtleff on Twitter.”

“In all Mark Shurtleff sent three tweets around the time that a five-man firing squad put Gardner to death.”

“In his first, external, sent at 1318 local time (1918 GMT) on Thursday, Mr Shurtleff acknowledged the gravity of the occasion.”

“Fifteen minutes after that, at 0015 local time, his Tweet served a purpose more recognisable, external to regular users of the service: self-publicity.”

“Mark Shurtleff has twice won re-election as Utah attorney general.”

“He has now sent 632 tweets and appears to use the service regularly to update his followers on events in Utah.”

“He first made headlines in 2009 when he posted in public a message intended to be sent privately - revealing tentative plans to run for the US Senate, external.”