Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner, who had spent 25 years on death row, was killed soon after midnight local time (0600 GMT) on Friday, hours after a final appeal was rejected.
Gardner, 49, chose the firing squad as his method of execution before it was banned by Utah in 2004.
He was only the third man put to death in that way in the US since 1976.
He was convicted in 1985 of fatally shooting a lawyer during an attempt to escape from a court where he was facing another murder charge dating from 1984.
Appeal rejected
A federal appeals court in Denver denied Gardner's request for a stay of execution on Thursday.
Just hours before his scheduled execution, the US Supreme Court - the highest court in the nation - rejected Gardner's final appeal against that decision.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert also rejected a request for a temporary stay on Thursday, saying Gardner's legal team had presented no material that had not already been considered by the courts.
"Mr Gardner has had a full and fair opportunity to have his case considered by numerous tribunals," he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Gardner ate his final meal of steak, lobster, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up, before beginning a 48-hour fast.
Gardner's lawyers said he had undertaken his fast for "spiritual reasons", the Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper reported. 'Wild West'
The execution was carried out by a five-man firing squad.
Just hours before his scheduled execution, the US Supreme Court - the highest court in the nation - rejected Gardner's final appeal against that decision.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert also rejected a request for a temporary stay on Thursday, saying Gardner's legal team had presented no material that had not already been considered by the courts.
"Mr Gardner has had a full and fair opportunity to have his case considered by numerous tribunals," he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Gardner ate his final meal of steak, lobster, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up, before beginning a 48-hour fast.
Gardner's lawyers said he had undertaken his fast for "spiritual reasons", the Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper reported. 'Wild West'
The execution was carried out by a five-man firing squad.
Four of their rifles were loaded with live bullets but a fifth carried a blank, so that none of the men would have known with certainty that he had shot a lethal round.
Gardner washooded and strapped to a black metal chair, with a white target pinned to his chest. He would have been asked for his last words before the execution.
Critics say the method is a relic from the state's Wild West past and should be abolished.
Death row convicts in Utah were for decades allowed to choose their method of execution.
State legislators removed that choice in 2004 and made lethal injection the standard method - but inmates sentenced before then can still opt for firing squad.
Gardner washooded and strapped to a black metal chair, with a white target pinned to his chest. He would have been asked for his last words before the execution.
Critics say the method is a relic from the state's Wild West past and should be abolished.
Death row convicts in Utah were for decades allowed to choose their method of execution.
State legislators removed that choice in 2004 and made lethal injection the standard method - but inmates sentenced before then can still opt for firing squad.
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