Utah man scheduled for execution has his last meal. Here’s what’s next
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Pat Reavy, KSL.com
SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — Taberon Dave Honie has been meeting with family members for most of the day as he prepares for his execution by lethal injection just after midnight.
Honie was moved from his regular prison cell to an observation cell adjacent to the execution chamber sometime about 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday, according to corrections officials. He then slept until about 8:15 a.m. and ate a breakfast sandwich just after 8:30 a.m., said corrections spokesman Glen Mills.
Since about 10 a.m., Honie has had several visits from family members, two at a time for security purposes, starting with his mother and father. He has also met with his daughter, three sisters, two cousins, a brother-in-law and an aunt, Mills said. Honie and his visitors are separated by a window. Other visits have been with the warden at the prison as well as four checkups by mental health workers. His mood has been described by corrections employees as “gracious and appreciative” throughout the day.
Honie spoke on the phone with a spiritual adviser from the Hopi Reservation and mostly said prayers, Mill said.
Family visits will end at 9 p.m. From 9 p.m. until 10 p.m., Honie will be allowed to meet with a spiritual adviser and his attorneys. At some point between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, he will be moved from the observation room to the execution chamber.
The final meal that he requested — a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake — was delivered about 4:30 p.m. However, Mills said Honie wanted administrators to convey to the public that he considered his final meal was one he had recently with his family at the prison.
Utah Department of Corrections Executive Director Brian Redd thanked members of the media for being present Wednesday afternoon and said he wants his department to be “known as a transparent and accountable organization.” He discussed the challenges of setting up a free speech zone during the execution that balances prison security and the rights of people to express their opinions. One of the challenges, he said, is that most of the land surrounding the prison is private property and there are few roads leading in and out to the prison.
Honie, who has been on death row since 1999, was convicted of brutally killing his ex-girlfriend’s mother, 49-year-old Claudia Marie Benn, in front of her three granddaughters on July 9, 1998, in Cedar City.
It will be the first execution at the new Utah State Correctional Facility, which officially opened in July 2022, and the first in the state in 14 years.
The prison was placed on lockdown in preparation for the execution at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and will remain locked down until 6 a.m. Thursday. Roadblocks have been set up on all roads leading into the facility, located west of the Salt Lake City International Airport.
The Department of Corrections is scheduled to give hourly updates starting at 5:30 p.m. lasting until about 10:30 p.m., then one more after the execution is done.
“We really want to put an emphasis on making sure we do this effectively, humanely and professionally,” Mills said during the 6:30 p.m. update, while adding the staff will have a final “run through” of what to expect tonight at 7 p.m., on top of the seven they have already conducted. A “run through” includes practicing moving a person who is about the same height and weight into the execution chamber and inserting a needle into his arm, both as a willing participant and with resistance, Mills said.
Mills admits there has been a different feeling among officers and staff members at the prison this week knowing the execution was approaching.
“It’s not something that anyone who’s involved with this looks forward to or takes joy in, in any means. However, we all see that as a responsibly of ours in the department, and we take it seriously, and we intend to carry it out in a caring and professional manner,” he said.
The execution chamber is 24 feet by 38 feet. There are separate witness rooms, both with reflective glass to protect the identity of witnesses. The windows are also bulletproof “to protect the witnesses from unintended ricochet, if firing squad is used,” according to the department. Honie is set to die by lethal injection.
After Honie is strapped to a gurney in the room, two people will enter and insert an IV. Those two will then leave the room and two other people will do the injection. Those people will be in a separate room and will not be seen by any witnesses or Honie in order to protect their identities.
The two people chosen are “trained in accordance with accepted medical practices to administer intravenous injections, who shall each administer a continuous intravenous injection, one of which shall be of a lethal quantity of sodium thiopental or other equally or more effective substance sufficient to cause death. Based on the recommendation of medical professionals, the drug being used will be pentobarbital,” according to the Utah Department of Corrections.
Neither of the two people will be told which one has the lethal dose.
Before the lethal injection begins, Honie will be given the opportunity as he is strapped to the gurney to speak any last words. After the injection, a physician will be brought into the chamber to confirm his death.
While not revealing their identities, corrections officials say those participating in the lethal injection are not members of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Division of Correctional Health Services.
Honie can choose up to five people who are either a religious representative, a friend or a relative to witness his execution. Mills says Honie has picked four family members and his attorney. The identities of the family members are expected to be revealed after the execution. Up to five members of the victim’s family may be also witnesses. Seven members of the media, all from Utah, have been selected to be witnesses, including KSL.com.
Other witnesses will include law enforcers from Iron County, a prosecuting attorney from Iron County, a representative from the Utah Attorney General’s Office and up to three corrections officials.
After he is dead, Honie’s body will be turned over to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office. Once their assessment is completed, Honie’s remains will be dealt with based on his wishes, but those wishes have not yet been disclosed.