Lawyers for Taberon Honie, a death row inmate in Utah, have entered a petition to commute his sentence.
Honie, who sexually assaulted and killed his ex-girlfriend's mother in front of her three grandkids, is facing an August execution by lethal injection. But now, advocates are pushing for his sentence to be reduced to life without the possibility of parole due to the "adversities" he's faced.
His team says that Honie should be excused from receiving the death penalty for the sexual assault and murder because his life was marred by "trauma, addiction, brain injuries, and severe intoxication at the time he killed Claudia Benn in 1998."
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His legal team says he's shown remorse and is even involved in the lives of his daughter and granddaughter. "The inequalities of Mr. Honie's case warrant commuting his death sentence to life without parole," the document insists.
After spending 25 years on death row, Honie's execution date is set for Aug. 8, following a judge's order earlier in the month. However, filing the commutation petition last week could change his fate.
It triggers a process that may lead the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to consider reducing his sentence to life behind bars without release. The next step involves the Utah Attorney General's Office, which must reply to the petition by Friday.
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Following their response, the board will decide if a commutation hearing is warranted. Jennifer Yim, Administrative Director at the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, disclosed at a Tuesday press conference that the five-member board must ascertain whether any "substantial issue exists" that hasn't been addressed by judicial proceedings.
This decision could take up to two weeks and require a majority verdict from the board. If there is no significant issue, the execution will proceed as planned.
If the board does identify an issue, they'll schedule a commutation hearing for July. During a commutation hearing, witnesses, Honie included, will voice their views before the board.
The most recent commutation hearing occurred in 2010 in Utah in Ronnie Lee Gardner's case. His plea was rejected, and he faced execution via firing squad in 2010, which was the last time Utah executed a prisoner.
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