A Utah man, Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was executed by lethal injection early on Thursday (August 8), marking the state’s first execution since 2010. Honie was convicted of the aggravated murder of Claudia Benn, his girlfriend’s mother, in July 1998. The execution took place at 12:25 am local time and lasted approximately 17 minutes.
Honie was 22 when he broke into Benn’s house in Cedar City, the tribal headquarters of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, after a day of heavy drinking and drug use. He repeatedly slashed Benn’s throat and stabbed other parts of her body. The judge who sentenced him to death also found that Honie had sexually abused one of Benn’s other grandchildren, who was in the house at the time of the murder.
Despite decades of failed appeals, Honie’s execution warrant was signed in June. In July, the state changed its execution protocol to using only a high dose of pentobarbital, a nervous system suppressant used to euthanize pets. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied Honie’s petition to commute his sentence to life in prison after a July hearing.
Outside the prison, a group of anti-death penalty protesters sang Amazing Grace and held signs that said, “All life is precious.” After the execution, Honie’s family was allowed to perform a Native American grieving ritual with bird feathers and cornmeal, which they believed would help free his soul after death.
Benn’s close family argued that Honie deserved no mercy, and they said his execution was the justice they needed after decades of grief. Benn was a Paiute tribal council member, substance abuse counselor, and caregiver for her children and grandchildren.
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