US executes second prisoner in days for murder

A Utah man was executed on Thursday for the 1998 murder and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend's mother, the second execution this week in the United States.

Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was put to death by lethal injection at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, the state's Department of Corrections said in a statement.

Honie, who had been imprisoned for more than 25 years, was pronounced dead at 12:25 am (0625 GMT), it said.

The execution was the western state's first in 14 years.

"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," Honie said in his last statement, according to the corrections department.

On Wednesday, Texas executed a man for the 1997 murder of Nancy Adleman who was attacked while jogging in her Houston neighborhood.

Arthur Lee Burton, 54, was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, and pronounced dead at 6:47 pm, officials from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.

Adleman, a mother of three, was strangled with her own shoelaces.

Burton's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court to stay his execution but the request was denied without comment.

His attorneys had argued that Burton should be constitutionally exempt from being put to death because he is intellectually disabled.

"To all the people I have hurt and caused pain, I wish we didn't have to be here at this moment, but I want you to know that I am sorry for putting y'all through this," Burton said in his final statement.

Including Burton, Texas has carried out three executions since January and there have been 12 in the United States this year so far.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 US states, while six others -- Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee -- have moratoriums in place.