Preparation underway for Utahs first execution by lethal injection in nearly 25 years

SALT LAKE CITY  – Inside the newly constructed execution chamber at the Utah State Correctional Facility, a designated team has been taking part in mandatory rehearsals ahead of next week’s planned execution.

Utah is set to execute Taberon Honie, 48, just after midnight on Aug. 8. Honie was convicted of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend’s mother, 49-year-old Claudia Benn, in front of her grandchildren in 1998.

“This is something we’ve been preparing for for months,” said Glen Mills, director of communications and government relations at the Department of Corrections. “There’s a very meticulous plan and we are dedicated to following it and fulfilling our statutory duty in a professional manner.”

According to Mills, that plan includes an in-chamber team of six people: the director of prison operations and the prison warden, a two-person I.V. team tasked with finding a vein, and two others who are designated executioners.

“They would be the ones that prepare and oversee everything that’s happening and would also push the drugs,” he said.

Between 12 and 48 hours before the execution, Honie will be placed in an observation cell.

a concrete room with a metal toilet

An observation cell where Taberon Honie will be housed in the hours leading up to his scheduled execution just after midnight on Aug. 8, 2024. (Utah Department of Corrections)

He will then ultimately be brought to the state’s newly constructed execution chamber by a transport team and secured in the execution gurney by a “tie-down” team.

If all goes according to the department’s plan, Executive Director Brian Redd will oversee the execution.

A viewing gallery will include government and journalist witnesses, up to five family members of the victim, and up to five witnesses chosen by Honie.

Honie will be given two minutes to say any last words, and then the executioners will administer the lethal drug, pentobarbital.

A physician will be on-site to monitor Honie and certify his death.

a table with straps in a white room with a one-way window to the side

The newly constructed execution chamber at the Utah State Correctional Facility. (Utah Department of Corrections)

“This is a very complex and detailed planning arrangement,” Mills said. “We are trying to plan for any type of scenario that could potentially come up.”

The department provided a redacted version of its execution policy to journalists. Mills said some information is withheld for security reasons and some information is protected from release under Utah law.

The State of Utah carried out its most recent execution 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad.

Mills acknowledged that many within the current administration at the Department of Corrections have not been involved in planning an execution before but said they’re leaning on those with institutional knowledge.

“The incident commander who is putting together the plan was here for previous executions,” said Mills. “So, we are being led in this effort by those who have participated previously.”

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