UPDATE: Parole board denies appeal to commute death sentence

UPDATE: The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole said Friday it has denied Taberon Honie’s petition to commute his death sentence and will make no change in his case.

The decision means the state is moving forward with Honie’s planned execution. But Honie has one more hearing slated for July 30, where his attorneys are attempting to dispute the protocols used to carry out the lethal injection.   

Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Corrections also tells KSL TV it has made arrangements to obtain the drug needed to carry out Honie’s execution.

The Board of Pardon’s and Parole’s full statement on their decision to uphold Honie’s death sentence is below:

The Board heard and carefully considered the testimony of Mr. Honie, as well as Mr. Honie’s expert witnesses, and the testimony of Mr. Honie’s family members. The Board also heard and thoughtfully considered testimony from four victim representatives. After carefully reviewing all submitted information and considering all arguments from the parties, the Board does not find sufficient cause to commute Mr. Honie’s death sentence. The Board hereby denies Mr. Honie’s Commutation Petition and makes no change to the sentence imposed in case 981500662.

The original story follows.

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SALT LAKE CITY — There are new developments in Utah’s first prisoner execution in 14 years. Convicted killer Taberon Honie made his last-ditch plea to the State Board of Pardons and Parole Tuesday, asking them to spare his life.

Honie is scheduled to be executed on August 8, 2024. Tuesday, the Board of Pardons and Parole listened to his attorneys’ closing arguments for why they should let him live, and why the family of the woman he murdered said he deserves to die.

“Mr. Honie is here today asking for your mercy and your grace,” Honie’s attorney said.

Tuesday was the last day of a two-day hearing, where Honie’s attorney is asking instead to give him life without parole.

Honie was convicted of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend’s mother, in front of her three grandchildren in 1998. While he didn’t deny the crime, his attorneys said he was ‘so blackout drunk’ he doesn’t remember what he did.

“He began drinking that day at 8:00 a.m., he had consumed two 18 packs of beer with a friend, he smoked marijuana, he drank hard liquor over the course of the day, he used methamphetamine, and later drank more beer and hard liquor,” Honie’s attorney said.

Some of the family of Claudia Benn, whom Honie murdered, also spoke at Tuesday’s hearing, and refuted that claim. The Board asked the media not to show their faces.

“You can’t give that excuse, that you didn’t know what you did, because you know in your mind, you know what you were doing,” Benn’s niece said.

The family also described the pain he caused them.

“You’re supposed to say forgive and forget, I don’t know if I can forgive this man for killing my aunt,” the niece said.

“Taberone you robbed us, you totally robbed us,” Benn’s cousin said.

“I’ve waited for this day to come for the last 26 years,” Benn’s daughter said.

In the state’s closing arguments, they said nothing has changed since Honie was sentenced for the heinous killing.

“Honie presents nothing materially new to this board to warrant commutation, nothing to warrant disturbing the sentencing, the judge’s weighing of the aggravating and mitigating factor,” an Assistant Utah Attorney General said.

In their final arguments, Honie’s attorneys said what has changed is his accountability. They said he is not the same man he was 26 years ago, and needs to live to be a part of the lives of his own daughter and granddaughter.

The board listened to all that Tuesday, as well as the testimony of his family the day before.

The board said they’ll deliberate and give his plea careful consideration and issue a written decision in the next week or two, before he’s scheduled to die in 16 days.

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A previous version of this story has been updated with the correct spelling of the defendant’s name.