SALT LAKE CITY — Following a judge signing a death warrant to execute convicted murderer Taberon Honie, the state of Utah is set to carry out its first execution in over 14 years.
Honie is set to be put to death by lethal injection on Thursday at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, the end of a long process to fulfill the death penalty sentence in Utah.
Here are some of the questions, as well as procedures that will be followed, regarding Honie's execution:
WHAT METHOD OF EXECUTION WILL BE USED?
Honie will be executed by lethal injection by pentobarbital after the state abandoned planed to use an experimental, three-drug cocktail of ketamine, fentanyl and potassium chloride. Pentobarbital has been utilized in executions across the country.
HOW IS THE EXECUTION CHAMBER ARRANGED?
The chamber is a room measuring 24 feet by 38 feet and is fitted with curtains to cover the windows in the adjacent witness rooms. The windows are complete with reflective glass to both physically and emotionally separate and protect the identities of the witnesses. Adjacent to the chamber is a cell where the condemned will be held.
Video below shows the inside of Utah's execution chamber:
WILL HONIE BE ALLOWED VISITORS BEFORE EXECUTION?
Family and religious leaders, as well as his attorney, will be allowed to visit with Honie before his execution.
WHAT WILL BE HONIE'S "LAST MEAL"?
Honie's last meal was a cheeseburger, french fries and a milkshake. It was served before 5 p.m. Wednesday. No alcoholic beverages were allowed to be served or used in preparation for his last meal.
WHO CAN WITNESS HONIE'S EXECUTION?
Honie is allowed to select up to five people to witness the death penalty being served, along with members of the victims' families and governmental witnesses, if they choose to attend. Nine members of the media are also allowed to be in attendance for the execution.
CAN HONIE DONATE HIS ORGANS BEFORE EXECUTION?
No, organ donation is not allowed for condemned inmates.
CAN ANYONE DOCUMENT HONIE'S EXECUTION?
The Department of Corrections will arrest and encourage prosecution of anyone who in any way attempts to document the death of Honie via audio, video, or any other means.
EXECUTION PROTESTS
A Free Speech Zone will be set up to accommodate those wishing to protest Honie's execution. The Zone will be located at approximately 7800 West 700 North in Salt Lake City, with access opening at 5 p.m. on August 7.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS DURING EXECUTION:
- Honie will be moved to an observation cell
- Honie will then be brought to the execution chamber and secured to the gurney
- UDC Executive Director gives the Warden the okay to begin the execution
- Curtains over witness windows pulled open
- Last statement given by Honie
- Signal by Director to begin execution
- Execution team commences lethal injection process
- Curtains over witness windows are closed
- Doctor pronounces death and death warrant is signed
- Director informs the Governor and Attorney General of the completion of the execution
- Execution chamber is cleared and Medical Examiner takes custody of the body
- Chamber is cleaned up
- Media witnesses and pool photographers allowed to return to execution chamber
- Media returned to Media Center staging area for final press conference
WHAT HAPPENS TO HONIE'S BODY AFTER EXECUTION?
His remains will be released to the Medical Examiner. When officials are done with their assessment, the Department treats the remains as the condemned has specified. Those wishes have not yet been finalized.
WHAT IS THE COST OF AN EXECUTION IN UTAH?
The Utah Department of Corrections says it does not have an accounting of the specific costs of an execution, but on average, it costs $51,122 to house a
typical Utah prison inmate for a year.
LAST EXECUTION IN UTAH?
June 18, 2010 - Ronnie Lee Gardner (Gardner was convicted of shooting and killing defense attorney Michael Burdell during an April 2, 1985, attempted courthouse escape. He also wounded a bailiff. Gardner had previously been charged with killing Melvyn Otterstrom during a bar robbery.)
HOW MANY EXECUTIONS HAVE BEEN HELD IN UTAH?
Before Honie, a total of seven people have been executed in Utah. The first to be put to death was Gary Gilmore in 1977.
- January 17, 1977 - Gary Gilmore (Firing Squad)
- August 28, 1987 - Pierre Dale Selby (Lethal Injection)
- June 10, 1988 - Gary Arthur Bishop (Lethal Injection)
- July 30, 1992 - William Andrews (Lethal Injection)
- January 26, 1996 - John Albert Taylor (Firing Squad
- October 15, 1999 - Joseph Mitchell Parsons (Lethal Injection)
- June 18, 2010 - Ronnie Lee Gardner (Firing Squad)
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY ON UTAH'S DEATH ROW?
Including Honie, seven people are currently serving on death row in the state of Utah, the longest serving inmate being Douglas Stewart Carter who was sentenced to death in Dec. 1985 after being convicted of aggravated murder.