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Taberon Honie
Born
Taberon Dave Honie

(1975-10-29)October 29, 1975
Keams Canyon, Arizona, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 2024(2024-08-08) (aged 48)
Utah State Correctional Facility, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Criminal statusExecuted
Children1
Conviction(s)Aggravated murder
Burglary
Object rape
Forcible sodomy
Criminal penaltyDeath (May 20, 1999)
Details
VictimsClaudia Marie Benn, 49
DateJuly 9–10, 1998
CountryUnited States
State(s)Utah
WeaponsKitchen knife

Taberon Dave Honie (October 29, 1975 – August 8, 2024) was an American murderer and rapist who was executed by the U.S. state of Utah for murdering and raping his ex-girlfriend's mother, Claudia Benn, in 1998.[1][2][3] He was the first person to be executed in Utah in over fourteen years, since Ronnie Lee Gardner in June 2010.[4]

Early life

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Taberon Honie was born on October 29, 1975.[1] He was a Native American from the Hopi tribe.[3] He described first having had alcohol when he was five years old, and in a later appeal, his attorneys stated he grew up in poverty and suffered multiple head injuries as a child.[5]

Murder

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Background

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The murder victim, 49-year-old Claudia Marie Benn, was a member of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Her family members described her as a pillar of her community. She worked as a substance abuse counselor and a caregiver to her family.[6] One of her daughters was Carol Pikyavit, whom Honie had dated from approximately 1995 to 1998; Honie and Pikyavit had a daughter together.[2][3] After breaking up with Honie, Pikyavit moved in with her mother.[7]

Killing

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On the evening of July 9, 1998, Honie called Pikyavit, demanding that she visit him immediately; he threatened to kill several of her family members if she did not comply.[2] Pikyavit left her house to go to work and was not home at the time of the murder. Hours later, Honie broke into the house Pikyavit shared with her mother, Claudia Marie Benn, in Cedar City, Utah, by shattering a sliding glass door. Benn attempted to defend herself with a kitchen knife. Still, Honie overpowered her and attacked her with the knife, slashing her throat four times from ear to ear, with the slashes being deep enough to reach her backbone.[2][3][7] In the early hours of the next day, police officers came to Benn's house, responding to a 911 call from one of her neighbors. The responding officers found a smashed window and Benn's partially naked and mutilated corpse, with deep stab wounds to her anus and vagina.[1][2] They found Honie in Benn's garage, arresting him after he was found with blood residue on his fingertips. During Honie's arrest, he stated, "I stabbed her. I killed her with a knife."[2][8] The responding officers located Benn's three young granddaughters in the same house, covered in blood.[2] Honie had sexually abused one of Benn's granddaughters immediately following Benn's murder, causing genital injuries.[1]

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After his arrest, Honie was charged with aggravated murder. He waived his right to a jury sentencing during his trial and instead opted for a bench trial.[2] On May 20, 1999, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection after an Iron County court convicted him of aggravated murder, burglary, object rape, and forcible sodomy.[1][2][3][8]

On January 11, 2002, Honie lost his first round of appeals after failed attempts to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty in Utah and claims of racially motivated prosecutors.[9][10] In 2013, Honie filed another appeal, claiming that his attorneys did an inadequate job at defending him and reviewing his background. He also claimed that he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and that he suffered from brain damage due to a 30-foot fall that he experienced as a teenager.[8][10][11] In 2014, Honie's appeal was denied by the Utah Supreme Court.[10]

Execution

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On May 1, 2024, a request for Honie's execution warrant was filed by the Utah Attorney General.[12] On May 24, 2024, a lawsuit challenging Utah's execution methods of lethal injection and death by firing squad was denied by a judge, allowing for Honie's execution warrant to be signed.[13] On June 10, 2024, his execution by lethal injection was scheduled to take place on August 8, 2024, with a new lethal injection cocktail consisting of fentanyl, ketamine, and potassium chloride.[14][15] Honie filed an appeal challenging the use of the new cocktail as experimental and prone to causing severe and unnecessary pain, instead suggesting the use of a single dose of pentobarbital, which had been used in multiple executions before Honie's.[16] On July 7, 2024, Utah officials decided to use pentobarbital in Honie's execution instead of the new three-drug cocktail.[17][18] Utah officials ordered three doses of pentobarbital for a total of $200,000 USD, although they only intended to use one five-gram dose in Honie's execution unless there were complications necessitating the use of any of the additional doses.[19]

On June 18, 2024, Honie filed a petition for clemency, mentioning his childhood poverty and neglect.[5] On June 24, 2024, it was reported that Honie's attorney filed several petitioning motions to halt his execution.[20]

Two days before Honie was executed, Honie had a hearing before Utah's parole board to request a reprieve. At the hearing, Honie expressed remorse for Benn's murder and stated, "Yes, I'm a monster. The only thing that kept me going all these years, the only thing I know 100%, this would never happen if I was in my right mind... I make no excuses." The parole board rejected Honie's request.[21]

About a dozen of Benn's family members, including Benn's granddaughter who was also Honie's daughter, planned to attend Honie's execution. Honie's mother also attended the execution. Honie's daughter stated that her maternal grandmother's side of the family largely supported Honie's death sentence and execution, while she did not.[22] Honie's last meal was a cheeseburger, french fries and a milkshake.[23]

Honie's execution took place at midnight on August 8, 2024. In his last statement, he stated, "From the start, it's been, if it needs to be done for [the victims' families] 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." After his final statement, he thanked Randall Honey and Bart Mortensen, the director of prison operations and the prison warden respectively, for "taking care of [his] family".[24] A dose of pentobarbital was administered at 12:04 am MT, and officials administered a second dose at 12:13 am. Honie flatlined at 12:21 am, at which point his family members were permitted to enter the execution chamber and perform a "spiritual ceremony" over his body; afterwards, a medical examiner officially pronounced him dead at 12:25 am.[25][26] Honie's execution was the first execution to take place in Utah since that of Ronnie Lee Gardner, who died by firing squad in 2010 and the first to take place at the Utah State Correctional Facility, which opened in 2022.[21][27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Utah State Prison Death Sentence Inmates" (PDF). Utah Department of Corrections. March 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "HONIE v. POWELL (2023)". FindLaw. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Killer sentenced to die; judge says 'he earned it'". Deseret News. Associated Press. May 22, 1999. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Schoenbaum, Hannah (August 8, 2024). "Utah man who killed woman is put to death by lethal injection in state's first execution since 2010". Associated Press. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Miller, Jessica (June 18, 2024). "Here's why Utah death row inmate Taberon Honie says his life should be spared". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Utah carries out its first execution since 2010: Taberon Honie killed his girlfriend's mother by slitting her throat". CBS News. Associated Press. August 8, 2024. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Gomez, Julia; Encinas, Amaris (August 8, 2024). "'Take care': Utah executes Taberon Dave Honie in murder of then-girlfriend's mother". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "A.G.'S OFFICE FIGHTS ANOTHER APPEAL IN 14 YEAR OLD CAPITOL MURDER". Utah AG Office Press Room. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Welling, Angie (January 12, 2002). "Killer's death sentence upheld". Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c McKellar, Katie (October 4, 2021). "These are the seven men sitting on Utah's death row". Deseret News. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Romboy, Dennis (September 5, 2013). "Death-row inmate appeals conviction to Utah Supreme Court". Deseret News. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Utah files death warrant for execution of convicted murder Taberon Honie". 2KUTV. May 1, 2024. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Hill, Victoria & Poe, Michelle (May 24, 2024). "Death row inmate Taberon Honie one step closer to execution after new lawsuit ruling". 2KUTV. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  14. ^ Harkins, Paighten (June 10, 2024). "Utah set to execute first death row inmate since 2010 this summer". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Utah judge sets execution date in 1998 murder despite concerns over a new lethal injection cocktail". NBC News. Associated Press. June 11, 2024. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Winslow, Ben (July 17, 2024). "Utah considers a different drug to execute Taberon Honie". FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU). Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Mackimm, Danielle (July 20, 2024). "Utah switches execution drug for Taberon Honie following concerns over initial combination". KOKH. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "Utah to use pentobarbital to execute man instead of three-drug combination". The Guardian. Associated Press. July 20, 2024. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Halloran, Wendy (August 7, 2024). "Financial details of Taberon Honie's execution shrouded in mystery despite inquiries". KUTV. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Spiewak, Jim (June 25, 2024). "Attorney petitions Utah Supreme Court to halt upcoming execution". 2KUTV. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Encinas, Amaris (August 7, 2024). "'I'm a monster': Utah man set for execution says he makes no excuses but wants mercy". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Schoenbaum, Hannah (August 7, 2024). "Daughter of Utah death row inmate navigates complicated dance of grief and healing before execution". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "Utah death row inmate Taberon Honie picks cheeseburger, fries for last meal". August 7, 2024.
  24. ^ Miller, Jessica; Harkins, Paighten (August 8, 2024). "Taberon Honie dies by lethal injection, the first execution in Utah in 14 years". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  25. ^ Higgins, Sean (August 8, 2024). "Utah death row inmate Taberon Honie executed by lethal injection". KUER 90.1. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  26. ^ Murphy, Sarah (August 8, 2024). "Utah's first execution in 14 years: Recounting Taberon Honie's final moments". ABC4. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  27. ^ Seariac, Hanna (August 8, 2024). "Utah executes Taberon Honie by lethal injection, state's first execution since 2010". Deseret News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
Preceded by
Ronnie Lee Gardner 		Executions in Utah since 1976 Succeeded by
none
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