SALT LAKE CITY – Taberon Dave Honie spends most of the day meeting with family members as he prepares for his execution by lethal injection shortly after midnight.
Honie was moved from his regular jail cell to an observation cell next to the execution chamber at about 6:10 a.m. Wednesday, corrections officials said. He then slept until about 8:15 a.m. and ate a breakfast sandwich shortly after 8:30 a.m., corrections spokesman Glen Mills said.
Since about 10am, Honie has had several visits from family members, two at a time, starting with his mother and father. He has also met the prison director and has been given three psychiatric assessments. His mood throughout the day was described by prison staff as “friendly and grateful”.
The last meal he ordered – a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake – was delivered around 4:30 p.m., but Mills said Honie wanted the administration to know that he had informed the public that his last meal was a recent meal he ate with his family in prison.
Brian Redd, executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections, thanked members of the media for their attendance Wednesday afternoon and said he wants his agency to be “known as a transparent and accountable organization.” He spoke about the challenges of creating a free speech zone during executions that balances the security of the prison and people’s right to express their opinions. One of the challenges, he said, is that most of the land around the prison is private property and there are few roads leading in or out of the prison.
Honie, who has been on death row since 1999, was found guilty of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend’s mother, 49-year-old Claudia Marie Benn, in Cedar City on July 9, 1998, in front of her three granddaughters.
It will be the first execution at the new Utah State Correctional Facility, which will officially open in July 2022, and the first in the state in 14 years.
The prison was placed on lockdown at 6 a.m. Wednesday in preparation for the execution and will remain on lockdown until 6 a.m. Thursday. Roadblocks have been set up on all access roads to the facility, which is west of Salt Lake City International Airport.
The prison service is expected to release updated information every hour from 5:30 p.m. until approximately 10:30 p.m., and then again after the execution.
The execution chamber is 25 feet by 37 feet. There are separate witness rooms, both with reflective glass to protect the identity of witnesses. The windows are also bulletproof “to protect witnesses from accidental ricochets if a firing squad is used,” according to the department. Honie is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection.
After Honie is strapped to a stretcher in the room, two people come in and start an IV. These two then leave the room and two other people administer the injection. These people are in a separate room and are not seen by witnesses or Honie to protect their identities.
The two individuals selected will be “trained according to accepted medical practices to administer intravenous injections. They will each administer one continuous intravenous injection, one of which will be a lethal amount of sodium thiopental or another substance equally or more potent and sufficient to cause death. Based on the recommendation of medical professionals, the medication used will be pentobarbital,” the Utah Department of Corrections said in a statement.
Neither of the two people will know which of them is carrying the lethal dose.
Before the lethal injection begins, Honie will have the opportunity to say his last words while strapped to the stretcher. After the injection, a doctor will be brought into the chamber to confirm his death.
Prison officials are not disclosing their identities but say those involved in the lethal injection are not employees of the Ministry of Health or the Department of Correctional Health Services.
Honie can select up to five people, either religious leaders, friends or relatives, to attend his execution. Mills says Honie has selected four family members and his attorney. The identities of the family members will be released after the execution. Up to five family members of the victim can also testify. Seven media representatives, all from Utah, have been selected as witnesses, including KSL.com.
Other witnesses include Iron County police officers, an Iron County prosecutor, a representative from the Utah Attorney General’s Office and up to three correctional officers.
After his death, Honie’s body will be turned over to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office. Once the examination is complete, Honie’s remains will be disposed of according to his wishes, which have not yet been announced.
This story will be updated throughout the day and evening.
