SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Convicted killer Taberon Honie is dead. News of his demise was announced at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, after his execution by lethal injection by the state of Utah for the brutal 1999 murder of Claudia Benn, his ex-girlfriend’s mother.
Prison officials confirmed the death, the result of Utah’s first execution since 2010.
Events Wednesday leading up to the execution were detailed by prison officials all day online and later with periodic live-streamed press updates, beginning with the 6:09 a.m. announcement that Honie had been taken to an observation cell.
By 7 a.m. both the Utah State Correctional Facility, the state’s main prison in Salt Lake City where the execution was to take place, and the Central Utah Correctional Facility, in Gunnison, had been placed on lockdown. By 4:15 p.m. the road to the USCF was closed.
In the first hourly press update at 5:30 p.m. by prison spokesman Glen Mills, he said Honie had been visiting with family throughout the day, allowed to talk to and see him through a barrier, two at a time. They consisted of a daughter, his mother and father, three sisters, two cousins, a brother-in-law and an aunt.
His mood was described as “gracious and appreciative” in the visits. Honie had also had another visit from a mental health team to assess him. Reports had been positive.
At the 7:30 p.m. briefing, the eighth “run-thru” of the day, a rehearsal, for the execution was reported underway. All had gone well, and included a staffer the size of the large Honie, volunteering for the lethal injection team to practice on locating suitable veins for the intravenous needles.
At 8:40 p.m. Honie said his final goodbyes to family, where he was reportedly jovial, cracking jokes and telling his tearful relatives to “keep their heads up.”
His attorneys had arrived at 6:40 p.m. but he declined to see them until 9 p.m. After 10 p.m. with outside visitation ended he was visited by the warden and the director of prison operations. He was offered a valium, which he declined. He spent the time listening to music on a tablet.
It was announced he would be walked to the death chamber between 11:30 p.m. and midnight for the 12:01 a.m. scheduled execution, escorted by a “tie-up” team should there be any signs of resistance, which was not expected.
