FEATURED POST

U.S. | Execution by nitrogen hypoxia doesn’t seem headed for widespread adoption as bills fall short and nitrogen producers object

Published
Image
The day after Alabama carried out the first-known US execution using nitrogen gas, its attorney general sent a clear message to death penalty states that might want to follow suit: “Alabama has done it, and now so can you.” Indeed, in the weeks immediately following the January execution of Kenneth Smith, it appeared a handful of states were listening, introducing bills that would adopt the method known as nitrogen hypoxia or a similar one. Officials behind each framed the legislation as an alternative method that could help resume executions where they had long been stalled.

Utah | Inmate has execution date set despite concerns about new lethal injection drug combination

Published
Taberon Dave Honie is set to be executed using a new drug in a lethal injection cocktail, which will now feature ketamine alongside the usual fentanyl and potassium chloride

A murderer has had his execution date set despite growing concerns over the lethal injection drug combination to be used.

Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted in the 1998 killing of a 49-year-old woman and will be put to death on August 8. Decades of failed appeals to get Honie off of Death Row have been disregarded and a date has since been set by a Utah judge. It will be the first execution in the state since Ronnie Lee Gardner was killed by firing squad in 2010.

But concerns over the "experimental" drugs cocktail used in the upcoming execution has concerned Honie's attorney, Eric Zuckerman. He claims his client and team have not been given ample time to assess the drugs and allow Honie to make an informed decision.

Two of the three drugs to be used in the lethal injection have been used before. Pain reliever fentanyl and potassium chloride to stop the heart are usually used in the death sentence process, but an additional sedative, ketamine, will also be used. It has, to Mills' knowledge, not been used in a public execution in Utah before.

He said: "The state has not provided any details about this novel procedure, including the drug doses. And the state says it will not revise its written procedures, making it the only jurisdiction to move forward with an execution without accurate written procedures." Dan Bokovoy, an attorney for the Department of Corrections, has responded and says the state does not require the agency to update protocols.

Fellow attorney Daniel Boyer of the Utah Attorney General's office has argued against Honie receiving any more appeals as he has exhausted his previous attempts, AP reported. Judge Jeffrey Wilcox set the date and says there is no legal reason to delay the death sentence. He said: "I am not prepared after hearing the arguments today to rule and say that these (lethal injection) protocols are required before this court will sign a writ of execution."

Judge Wilcox has requested information of the administered drugs be given to Honie as soon as possible. Honie was convicted in 1999 of aggravated murder in the killing of Claudia Benn, 49. He had smashed through a glass patio door at Benn's home where she was living with her three granddaughters and daughter. Honie cut Benn's throat four times before police arrived to find him covered in blood.

Failed appeals against Honie's death sentence were revealed as his legal team argued the trial attorney had not raised the issues of his mental health and substance abuse during his sentencing. Should the drugs needed for a lethal injection not be available, the state of Utah allows for firing squads as a backup method in the execution process.

Source: mirror.co.uk, Ewan Gleadow, June 11, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________








"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



Location: Utah, USA
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Missouri | My Last Four Months On Death Watch: David Hosier

Published
Image
David Hosier, who was executed on June 11 for a crime he insisted he didn't commit, described the harrowing conditions of Missouri's death row, where he spent the last 11 years of his life During the last four months of his life, David Hosier spent almost all of his time in a 7-foot-wide by 15-foot-long cell, completely isolated from everyone, only allowed to leave if he was shackled head-to-toe, had a full security escort and a legitimate reason to venture out into the rest of the prison.
Read more

U.S. | 'I comfort death row inmates in their final moments - the execution room is like a house of horrors'

Published
Image
Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life. 
Read more

NYC | World Premiere of “Rebel Nun” at the Tribeca Film Festival

Published
Image
Professor Jimmy Gurulé, founder and director of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, recently attended the world premiere of “Rebel Nun,” a documentary of the life of Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., and her decades-long struggle against the death penalty.  The world premiere was held in New York City as part of the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary was produced by Universal Pictures.
Read more

U.S. | Execution by nitrogen hypoxia doesn’t seem headed for widespread adoption as bills fall short and nitrogen producers object

Published
Image
The day after Alabama carried out the first-known US execution using nitrogen gas, its attorney general sent a clear message to death penalty states that might want to follow suit: “Alabama has done it, and now so can you.” Indeed, in the weeks immediately following the January execution of Kenneth Smith, it appeared a handful of states were listening, introducing bills that would adopt the method known as nitrogen hypoxia or a similar one. Officials behind each framed the legislation as an alternative method that could help resume executions where they had long been stalled.
Read more

Florida | Brother of Parkland school shooting victim embraces demolition: ‘Gives us closure’

Published
Image
The 1200 building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where Nikolas Cruz killed 14 students and three adults in a Valentine’s Day shooting, is being torn down, much to the relief of Hunter Pollack, whose sister was one of the slain students.  Pollack believes that the building is a constant reminder of the horrific tragedy and should be demolished to help the community heal. The building has stood as a painful reminder of the tragic day for years, and the tearing down of the building is seen as an opportunity for closure for the community, which has been traumatized by the events that took place there.
Read more

U.S. | He prayed with man being executed in Missouri. What happened in the death chamber

Published
Image
Rev. Jeff Hood served as the spiritual adviser for David Hosier, who was executed by the state of Missouri on June 11, 2024. Shortly before 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Rev. Jeff Hood was escorted through a maze of halls and security checks at the prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, leading him into the state’s execution chamber. “Big door after big door closes,” he said. “Every time one of the doors closes, you can ... feel it in your soul.” He was taken into the chamber where he sat down and put his right hand on David Hosier’s shoulder.
Read more