SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox has rejected a request by Taberon Honie's defense lawyers to delay his pending execution.
In a letter to Honie's attorneys, the governor pointed out that under Utah constitution he does not have the power to commute or pardon a death row inmate.
"I am only given the authority to grant temporary reprieves that last until review by the Board of Pardons and Parole, that would likely occur by the next business day. This is not an authority I take lightly. I have evaluated your concerns and other facts surrounding Mr. Honie’s case prior to issuing my decision," he wrote.
"In making this decision, I am mindful of the fact that Mr. Honie has had every opportunity to challenge his sentence since it was imposed 25 years ago, in litigation and before the Board of Pardons and Parole. It is my understanding that Mr. Honie has exhausted his appeals before our state courts. He also had a commutation hearing before the Board of Pardons and Parole. The Board declined to commute his sentence."
Honie's lawyers sent the governor a letter arguing that Utah's Department of Corrections has not been forthcoming about its death penalty processes. It is similar to arguments they made in court last week seeking to block Honie's lethal injection execution, which were denied by a judge.
"Ultimately, my review of your request indicates that a temporary reprieve is not warranted. Indeed, it is not clear to me that any benefit would come from delaying Mr. Honie’s sentence further. I am thus denying your request for a reprieve," Gov. Cox wrote.
Honie is scheduled to die by lethal injection just after midnight Thursday for the 1998 murder of Claudia Benn. He broke into the Cedar City home of his ex-girlfriend's mother, slit her throat and sexually assaulted her with a knife. Her grandchildren were in the home at the time of the killing.
Honie has exhausted his legal appeals and the Utah Board of Pardons & Parole denied his request to commute his sentence to life in prison.
Read the governor's letter here:
