Gov. Spencer Cox denies death row inmate’s request to pause execution

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday denied a request from death row inmate Taberon Honie to pause the state’s plans to execute him. 

Honie is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection early Thursday morning and in a letter to the governor, his attorneys voiced concerns that the state’s plan was rushed, incomplete and “shrouded in secrecy.” 

These arguments were presented in Utah’s 3rd District Court last week in a lawsuit filed in July, where Honie’s attorneys argued, among other things, that the state’s execution protocol was flawed, increasing the likelihood of a botched execution. 

That lawsuit was dismissed — shortly after, Honie’s attorneys argued a similar case to Cox in the letter. Although Utah law prevents the governor from granting clemency or commuting sentences, he can issue a temporary reprieve that would be subject to review by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. 

Taberon Honie’s attorneys ask Gov. Spencer Cox to pause execution ‘shrouded in secrecy’

That’s what Honie’s attorneys requested, hoping the governor would pause the execution “so that adequate time and preparation can be taken to ensure a safe process.” 

But Cox, in response, “strongly” disagreed with how Honie’s attorneys framed the Utah Department of Corrections’ plan. 

“The Department has gone above and beyond in planning and preparing for Mr. Honie’s execution,” Cox wrote. “It is my understanding that the majority of concerns in your request were previously raised in court. In fact, in reviewing these concerns, the court found the Department has provided Mr. Honie with more than the law requires.” 

Honie “had every opportunity to challenge his sentence since it was imposed 25 years ago,” Cox wrote, noting that his appeals before Utah’s courts have been exhausted and his commutation request was denied by the Board of Pardons and Parole. 

Honie was sentenced to death in 1999 for the murder and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend’s mother, Claudia Benn. Honie broke into Benn’s house, killed her, and mutilated her body while her three grandchildren were inside the home, according to court documents. He would later admit to molesting one of the children after the murder. 

Utah News Dispatch has reached out to Honie’s attorney for comment.