Utah Executes Inmate for First Time in 14 Years

A Utah man who killed his girlfriend's mother by slashing her throat was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday in the state's first execution since 2010. Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn, the maternal grandmother of his now 27-year-old daughter, Tressa.

• Execution: Honie was pronounced dead at 12:25am local time in an execution that took about 17 minutes, per the AP. He mouthed "I love you" to family members watching from a witness chamber after he was given the lethal injection of two doses of pentobarbital. Strapped to the execution table, Honie turned his head to thank correctional officers for taking care of his family before he lost consciousness.

• Crime: 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 her. The judge who sentenced him to death also found that Honie had sexually abused one of Benn's other grandchildren.
• Challenges: After decades of failed appeals, Honie's execution warrant was signed in June despite defense objections to the lethal drug. In July, the state changed its execution protocol to using only a high dose of pentobarbital. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied Honie's petition to commute his sentence to life in prison. He asked the board to allow him "to exist" so he could be a support for his daughter.
• Family reaction: Honie's daughter told the board she would lose her most supportive parent if her father were to be executed. Benn's close family, however, argued that Taberon Honie deserved no mercy, and they said his execution was the justice they needed. "He deserves an eye for an eye," said a niece.

More here. (More Utah stories.)