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#Post#: 655--------------------------------------------------
~ Taberon Dave Honie, 08Aug24, (UT) ~
By: BuzzC Date: July 29, 2024, 10:42 pm
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Taberon Honie to be executed 25 years, 80 days after he was
sentenced to death--
Monday, June 10th, 2024
[IMG]
HTML https://kutv.com/resources/media2/original/full/1600/center/80/d919d703-143a-45d5-bde9-6cf987ccac6f-2406101252HonieDeathsentencehearing_frame_3052.jpeg[/img]
CEDAR CITY, Utah (KUTV) — Taberon Honie, who has been on death
row for 25 years for the 1998 murder and sexual assault of his
girlfriend’s mother Claudia Benn, has been ordered to be
executed by lethal injection.
The execution has been scheduled for August 8.
Honie shook his head when the judge gave the order. He never
spoke and turned around and looked at family as he was escorted
out of the court room.
Honie was convicted for the sexual assault and murder of his
ex-girlfriend's mother. He was sentenced in May 1999.
Benita Yracheta, the daughter of the victim, said she’s relieved
as this ruling is 25 years in the making.
Judge Jeffrey C. Wilcox signed Honie’s execution warrant after a
3 hour hearing in the Fifth Judicial District court.
“The judge made the correct ruling,” said state prosecutor
Daniel Boyer after the hearing.
Eric Zuckerman, Honie’s attorney, argued for more time to
investigate the state's protocol of administering the new lethal
drug cocktail of ketamine, fentanyl and potassium chloride that
will kill him.
“If Mr. Honie has the right to choose, I believe he has the
right to an informed choice,” Zuckerman said.
Zuckerman asked for 3 months to investigate the new drug
cocktail and administering protocol.
“Does the state of Utah want to carry out an execution with a
new protocol that has never been used before without it being
subjected to judicial review?” Zuckerman asked the judge.
The position of the state was to answer the two questions:
should the execution stay be lifted, and should the order of
execution be signed?
Boyer said Honie exhausted all his legal avenues for appeal.
Even with a signed execution warrant, Boyer expects the judge’s
decision to be challenged.
“It’s a bit of an open question as to whether there’s a right to
direct appeal, but they can certainly try and certainly we
anticipate some attempt for direct or otherwise review,” Boyer
said.
Zuckerman said he will appeal the ruling.
8)
#Post#: 658--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Taberon Dave Honie, 08Aug24, (UT) ~
By: BuzzC Date: August 8, 2024, 3:44 am
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‘The clock is ticking’: Utah plans to execute first death row
inmate since 2010--
Thursday, August 8th, 2024
Utah is preparing to execute its first death row inmate since
2010, after a judge signed a death warrant for 48-year-old
Taberon Honie on Monday.
Honie’s execution is scheduled for just after midnight on Aug. 8
by lethal injection at the Utah State Prison, with the state
planning to use a combination of ketamine, fentanyl and
potassium chloride.
“The clock is ticking,” said Glen Mills, communications director
for the Utah Department of Corrections, on Tuesday during a news
conference.
Honie was convicted in 1999 for sexually assaulting then
murdering 49-year-old Claudia Benn, the mother of his
ex-girlfriend. According to court documents, Benn’s three
grandchildren were inside the home at the time.
Utah’s 5th District Court Judge Jeffrey Wilcox signed the
warrant on Monday, rejecting arguments from Honie’s attorneys
that the lethal cocktail the state plans to use is
“experimental.”
Honie is challenging the proposed method in a case pending
before the Utah Supreme Court, and Mills on Tuesday acknowledged
there could be “circumstances that could delay” the execution.
Honie could also request a clemency hearing, which Mills said
would have to come within seven days after the warrant was
signed. But as of now, the state is moving forward with its
plan.
“We are going to proceed as though this is going to take place
on Aug. 8,” he said.
In response to the attorney’s concerns, Mills defended the
state’s decision.
“We’ve worked with our medical professionals who are confident
that the drug combination … will be equally or more effective,”
he said.
The last inmate executed in Utah was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.
Gardner was sentenced to death in 1985 for shooting Michael
Burdell, an attorney, and wounding Nick Kirk, a bailiff, in a
failed attempt to escape from court, where he was already facing
another murder charge.
8)
#Post#: 659--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Taberon Dave Honie, 08Aug24, (UT) ~
By: BuzzC Date: August 8, 2024, 3:07 pm
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'Take care': Utah executes Taberon Dave Honie in murder of
then-girlfriend's mother--
Thursday, August 8th, 2024
Utah executed a death row inmate for the 1998 murder of his
then-girlfriend's mother on Thursday, the 12th execution in the
nation this year and the state's first since a firing squad
execution in 2010.
Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was executed by lethal injection and
pronounced dead on Thursday, at 12:25 a.m. Mountain Time,
according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Honie's
execution came nearly seven hours after Texas executed Arthur
Lee Burton on Wednesday for the murder of Nancy Adleman, a
48-year-old mother of three who was out on a jog in Houston in
1997.
Honie was convicted for the murder of 49-year-old Claudia Benn,
a substance abuse counselor for Utah's Paiute Tribe and a
devoted grandmother of three.
Benita Yracheta, Benn's daughter, told USA TODAY on Monday that
she feels relief that she can put her mother's brutal death
behind her, saying that justice is "finally happening" and at
least Honie could prepare for the day.
"My mom, she never knew her death date," she said. "She didn’t
know she was gonna die that night."
Here's what to know about the execution, the case, and the
victim.
Taberon Dave Honie's last meal, moments with family
The Utah Department of Corrections hosted a press conference
livestream, providing hourly updates on Honie. Honie spent most
of the day visiting with family members, including his daughter
and parents, who had been with him since 10 a.m., according to
corrections spokesperson Glenn Mills.
He ate two hot meals over the course of the day, including a
breakfast sandwich. His last meal was a cheeseburger, fries, and
a milkshake.
Honie underwent multiple mental health checks over the course of
the day, with a corrections team reporting that Honie was
"gracious and appreciative" throughout, Mills said. One of
Honie's attorneys had access to a phone in case they had a
concern with the execution procedure.
The corrections team ran through the procedure over a handful
times to ensure that they had "everything down."
Honie spoke his last words at 12:03 a.m.,reminding others that
change is possible.
“From the start it's been, if it needs to be done for them to
heal, let's do this," said Honie. "If they tell you you can't
change, don't listen to them. To all my brothers and sisters in
here, continue to change. I love you all. Take care."
Media witnesses said when the execution started, it was like
watching someone fall asleep.
When a curtain was pulled back in the execution room, Honie was
looking up, had an IV in both arms, which were strapped down to
a table, said media witness Ben Winslow, a reporter from Fox 13,
at a press conference.
Before Honie gave his final words, the warden read the death
warrant to him.
Honie looked around the room and began tapping his foot. The
witnesses said they weren't sure it was out of nervousness or
"just a reaction to what was happening."
He mouthed something to the warden and the director of
operations, but witnesses could not hear what he said and then
he lifted his head again and took in a "deep exhaling breath and
opened his mouth wide."
His breathing then began to accelerate before slowing down. His
skin then turned pale and blue, then shortly after, he was
pronounced dead.
There isn't "much similarity at all" between Honie's execution
and Ronnie Lee Gardner's execution by firing squad in 2010, said
Pat Reavy, a reporter with KSL.com who witnessed both
executions, at the press conference.
"I guess there's a peaceful way to put someone to death," said
Reavy about Honie's execution "That's what this was."
Reavy described the firing squad execution as more traumatic.
"The firing squad execution I thought was much more violent,"
said Reavy. "It shakes you, it's just so loud."
While Honie's execution took longer, he adds that it really was
"like watching a person fall asleep and not wake up again."
Utah's Attorney General Sean D. Reyes released a statement
addressing Honie's execution and the "deeply held beliefs,
powerful emotions and divergent views regarding the death
penalty."
"Death by execution is one of the most extreme uses of
government power," said Reyes. "Many would argue it is
ineffective, improper and beyond the authority of man to
exercise. Many would disagree."
"But there is no dispute that the violent and unprovoked taking
of innocent lives from fellow human beings is among the crimes
deemed by society to be most vile, repugnant and punishable by
the harshest measures possible. In states like Utah, that
includes the death penalty."
Benn was babysitting her three granddaughters on July 9, 1998.
Her daughter, Carol Pikyavit, had been living with Benn along
with her 2-year-old daughter, whom she shared with Honie, when
Honie called.
He was drunk and angry, and at one point, threatened to kill
everyone in the home and take their daughter if Pikyavit didn't
make time to see him, court records say.
Not taking the threat seriously, Pikyavit left the home and
headed to work.
Honie headed to the house and began arguing with Benn. Honie
told police that Benn started the fight and was calling him
names through a sliding glass door before he snapped, broke
through the door and went inside.
Benn had grabbed a butcher knife but was overpowered by Honie,
who grabbed the knife and brought it to her throat, court
records say. Honie says the two of them both tripped while the
knife was at Benn’s throat and that she fell on the blade.
Police said Benn was found face down in the living room, with
numerous “stabbing and cutting wounds” to her neck and genitals,
according to court documents. Honie confessed to the murder,
telling police that same night he had “stabbed and killed her
with a knife,” USA TODAY reported.
All three grandchildren were found at the home with varying
degrees of blood on their clothes and body. There was also
evidence that one of Benn’s granddaughters was sexually abused
at some point, court documents say.
Honie was arrested, charged and convicted of aggravated murder.
Betsy China, Benn's cousin, told USA TODAY on Monday that she
wants Benn to be remembered as someone "who helped our people."
Coping hasn't been easy for China, as she frequently looked to
Benn for guidance in life. Benn always encouraged China, like a
coach or sister would, advising her in difficult times.
“There was a big gap there in leadership within the family”
after Benn’s death that remains to this day, China said.
Right now, what she’s focused on is “trying to be here and
finish this out,” remembering her cousin in a good way and
knowing that justice was served on Thursday.
Yracheta feels similarly, still working to untangle her mother's
memory from what happened that night, saying whenever that
happens, she tries to “to go to the good memories I have with
her."
“I miss her a lot. And every time I think of her, I think of the
house and what not,” Yracheta said.
Those “good memories” include an impromptu dance party with
impersonators for The Supremes at the Utah State Fair or how her
mom worked to put herself through college after she divorced her
husband and left Kaibab, Arizona, and moved the family to Utah.
Yracheta and other family members traveled to Salt Lake to
witness the execution, hoping to put the past behind them.
8)
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