Utah executes Taberon Honie by lethal injection

Taberon Honie, who murdered and sexually assaulted Cedar City, Utah, resident Claudia Benn in 1998, was executed in the early minutes of Thursday by lethal injection. The execution was carried out by personnel the Utah Department of Corrections designated, completing a death sentence first given May 20, 1999.

Honie was pronounced dead at 12:25 a.m. Thursday, said Glen Mills, spokesperson for Utah Department of Corrections. This was the first execution carried out in Utah since 2010.

Benn, a member of the Paiute tribe and the mother of Honie’s then ex-girlfriend, was a substance abuse counselor, mother and grandmother. On July 9, 1998, Honie broke into Benn’s home and took a butcher knife from Benn, 49, and repeatedly stabbed her and sexually assaulted her with the knife. Her three young grandchildren were in the home at the time.

The first lethal dose of pentobarbitol was administered at 12:04 a.m., said Mills. A second dose was administered nine minutes later. At 12:21 a.m., the EKG showed a flatline and Honie was pronounced dead four minutes later at 12:25 a.m.

The department will provide support to the staff and around 200 individuals were involved in this situation, Brian Redd, executive director of Utah Department of Corrections, said.

“His foot appeared to be twitching,” said Ben Winslow, a Fox 13 reporter, who acted as chair of the media witnesses. Winslow said Honie’s foot seemed to twitch after giving his final words. He mouthed words to the warden that witnesses were unable to hear. A corrections official later said when Honie mouthed the words, he thanked two officials for taking care of his family and told his family he loved them.

Honie took a deep breath and then his breath picked up pace.

“But it then slowed down very quickly and then his skin turned pale, turned blue and we observed the EKG being tested to measure his pulse again and again and again,” said Winslow. Two other media witnesses said the process seemed to be carried out seamlessly.

“Early this morning the state of Utah fulfilled its legal obligation to carry out the execution of Taberon Honie. The actions of Mr. Honie that lead to his death sentence are heinous,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in a statement. “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. My heart goes out to the victim’s family.”

“We understand there are deeply held beliefs, powerful emotions and divergent views regarding the death penalty,” said Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes in a statement. “Death by execution is 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 society does agree that taking an innocent life is “deemed by society to be most vile, repugnant and punishable by the harshest measures possible. In states like Utah, that includes the death penalty.”

“As such, the State of Utah approached the exercise of its power and attendant responsibilities with the seriousness and solemnity that such an act merits. We hope opponents of the death penalty 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,” said Reyes. “We also hope that this act is a deterrent to other heinous crimes and pray it provides some measure of comfort to those who have been awaiting justice for decades.”

In the hours leading up to his execution, Honie was visited by his daughter, mother, father, three sisters, two cousins, brother-in-law and aunt, said Mills. Mental health workers also checked in on his well-being. Around 30 protesters gathered to protest the execution at a designated free speech zone.

Mills said Honie spoke with a spiritual leader Tuesday for a long period of time. The call involved several prayers.

Honie was convicted of aggravated murder and he was sentenced to die on May 20, 1999. The last execution carried out in Utah previous to Honie’s was Ronnie Lee Gardner on June 18, 2010.

“It was not a sentence I gave to the defendant; he earned it. If this isn’t a death penalty case, I don’t know what is,” 5th District Judge Robert Braithwaite said at the time.

After an initial appeal, Honie’s case was heard by the Utah Supreme Court in 2002 , which upheld the sentence. He appealed his sentence again in 2013, claiming his defense did not show enough evidence of mitigating circumstances — substance abuse by both him and his parents. The Utah Supreme Court again denied his appeal.

In 2015, Honie filed a petition to ask another court to hear his challenge to his sentence. His petition was denied in 2019 and though he appealed, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision to deny the petition in 2023.

In June, Honie asked the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to commute his sentence. In Utah, governors cannot commute sentences — that power belongs to the five-person board. The board denied the request in July.

“We did not ask for you to take my aunt the way you did. Nor did we ask you to hurt the girls,” Trevia Wall, Benn’s niece, said at the the hearing in July. “You did all that. And again, this sentence is what I feel is best and is what you’ve earned. You’ve earned that sentence.”

Another family member, Benn’s daughter Benita Yracheta, said at the hearing that when she thinks of her mother, she now thinks of the crime scene.

“I can’t pick up a phone and call her anymore,” said Yracheta. “I can’t wish her a happy birthday or Mother’s Day. I have to go to the cemetery for holidays, Mother’s Day, her birthday. I go down on the anniversary of her death. We can’t make no more memories with her, no more pictures with her. We just have to live with the memories we have.”

Honie’s attorney, Therese Day, said she provided more details about his upbringing, especially the role of substance abuse, and argued for clemency. “This request is something he’s struggled with because he believes he is deserving of nothing. He’s not asking to be let out of prison nor does he think he deserves it.”

After the hearing, the board issued a statement saying they reviewed testimony from Honie, his witnesses and family members as well as from the victim representatives and denied clemency.

“After carefully reviewing all submitted information and considering all arguments from the parties, the Board does not find sufficient cause to commute Mr. Honie’s death sentence.”

Attorneys for Honie wrote Cox a letter requesting Cox delay the execution, arguing the Utah Department of Corrections engaged in a rushed process. The department denied the process was rushed.

Cox denied the request in a letter sent Tuesday. He said Honie exhausted all his appeals and he does not think a temporary reprieve is warranted.

National advocates against the death penalty arrived in Utah days before the execution to lead efforts to protest it. Abe Bonowitz, co-founder of Death Penalty Action, along with SueZann Bosler, founding board member of Journey of Hope, and Randy Gardner, brother of Ronnie Lee Gardner and on Death Penalty Action’s advisory committee, have held a public meeting and spoken to press to protest the execution.

A group of anti-death penalty advocates presented Cox with a petition requesting he stay the execution. The group gathered on the steps of the Utah Capitol to protest the execution. The Utah Department of Corrections set up a designated free speech zone for those who wanted to protest against or for the death penalty.

Mills recounted Honie’s final words as, “From the start, it’s been if it needs to be done for them to heal, let’s do this. If they tell you you can’t change, don’t listen to them. To all my brothers and sisters here, continue to change. I love you all, take care.”

“While Honie is scheduled for execution, the impact of his actions will continue to resonate deeply with those who knew and loved Claudia,” said Restoring Ancestral Winds in a statement, a coalition with the purpose to end violence in Native communities. “She was a beloved mother and grandmother and a beacon of strength and resilience in her community. Claudia’s precious grandchildren who witnessed the attack, still feel her loss.”

”The emotional and psychological scars borne by her grandchildren are a painful reminder of the ongoing consequences of this tragic event,” continued the statement. “We call attention to the high rates of violence against Native American women which have a profound impact on future generations within Native American families and communities.”