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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole has denied death row inmate Taberon Dave Honie's petition for commutation.
His Aug. 8 execution by lethal injection will now proceed as scheduled.
"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," the board announced in a statement Friday.
The decision to deny Honie's request to change his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole comes on the heels of two days of testimony earlier this week before the full five-member board.
Honie, 48, tried to convince the board that if not for his extremely high level of intoxication on the night of the crime, he would not have murdered and sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend's mother, Claudia Benn, in front of her three grandchildren on July 9, 1998. He said he now wants to "exist" in prison to try and help his daughter, and argued that his discipline record over the past 26 years while incarcerated has been minor.
Four relatives of Benn, however, testified before the board that Honie's death sentence should be carried out because of the exceptionally brutal way Honie killed someone who was considered a role model for the entire community, and because of the emotional trauma they still feel today.
"In accordance with Utah law, Taberon Honie will be executed by lethal injection. It is anticipated that the court's order will be carried out shortly after midnight on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 8," the Department of Corrections said in a statement following the board's announcement.
Honie's execution will be the first at the new state prison, which opened in 2022.
