Utah governor, attorney general, react to state’s first execution in 14 years

During the early morning hours Thursday, the Utah Department of Corrections executed its first death row inmate since 2010. 

Taberon Honie, 48, was sentenced to death in 1999 for aggravated murder in the gruesome stabbing and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend’s mother, Claudia Benn, in Cedar City. He was pronounced dead at 12:25 a.m. Thursday after an anonymous team of medical contractors administered two doses of pentobarbital. 

Utah executes Taberon Honie by lethal injection, first capital punishment since 2010

“Today our department fulfilled one of the most consequential responsibilities given to the Department of Corrections. No one involved today takes joy in carrying out this responsibility but we recognize it’s one of our statutory duties and we take it seriously,” said department executive director Brian Redd around 2:30 a.m., telling reporters that about 200 prison staffers were involved in the execution that night.  

Reporters from seven news outlets, including Utah News Dispatch, witnessed the execution from a small room with a one-way window looking into the death chamber. In the three adjacent rooms sat Honie’s family, Benn’s family and government witnesses. The witnesses were kept separate throughout the night. 

After the execution, Utah Department of Corrections communications director Glen Mills told reporters a number of lawmakers were among the government witnesses — House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, House Majority Assistant Whip Casey Snider, R-Paradise, Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, and Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine. 

Also in the room was Paiute County Attorney Scott Burns, who was the original prosecutor in the case in 1999 when he worked in Iron County; Iron County Sheriff Kenneth Carpenter; and Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson.

Jon Pierpont, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s chief of staff, and Justin Anderson with the Utah Attorney General’s Office were the final two government witnesses. 

After Honie was pronounced dead, both Cox and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes commented on the execution. 

“The actions of Mr. Honie that lead to his death sentence are heinous. I respect the process of our criminal justice system, and recognize the countless public servants who meticulously planned and approached their responsibilities with professionalism. I hope this brings closure to those impacted by the crimes,” Cox said. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family.”

And Reyes, in a lengthy statement, acknowledged that the death penalty has many opponents, calling it “one of the most extreme uses of government power.”  

“Many would argue it is ineffective, improper and beyond the authority of man to exercise. Many would disagree,” Reyes said. “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.” 

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Reyes urged critics of capital punishment, which included a group of protesters gathered 2 miles outside the prison on Wednesday night until and stayed until after the execution had taken place, to allow “grace for those who carried out their duties as required by the law and did so with respect, professionalism, and, in some cases, in spite of their own personal views.”

In a statement after the execution, Honie’s attorneys Therese Day — who was also a witness to the execution — and Eric Zuckerman described him as “a proud member of the Hopi-Tewa Tribe from First Mesa, Arizona.”

“Mr. Honie always accepted responsibility for his crimes and expressed deep remorse for his actions, which were committed while he was extremely intoxicated from drugs and alcohol. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Honie worked on himself to become a better person,” they said. “Today, he was not the same man he was 26 years ago when he committed these crimes. We are saddened that despite this change, the State of Utah did not grant him mercy. Mr. Honie’s life had value — he was worthy of redemption, and not being judged solely by his worst actions.”