SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has rejected Taberon Honie's latest effort to block his lethal injection execution.
In a ruling on Tuesday, 3rd District Court Judge Linda Jones granted the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit that was filed by Honie's lawyers. It challenged the execution protocols the Utah Department of Corrections would use to carry out Honie's death sentence.
"The potential injury he identifies is speculative at best," said Judge Jones.
Tuesday's hearing was stripped down after the Utah Department of Corrections announced that it would abide by something Honie's attorneys requested — that Utah abandon an experimental, three-drug cocktail of ketamine, fentanyl and potassium chloride to execute him — and instead use pentobarbital. The agency said it is procuring pentobarbitol at a cost of $200,000.
Pentobarbital has been utilized in executions across the country.
"I have no authority to stop the execution," Judge Jones said, noting that another judge signed the death warrant. She could, however, decide if the execution protocols constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
Honie's lawyer argued that the Utah Department of Corrections has handed them 250 pages of execution protocols that are outdated and unclear. Updating the protocols is necessary, Honie attorney Eric Zuckerman said, to avoid a painful and botched execution. They include things like how the drug is stored, who handles it, how many syringes are used and what happens if something goes wrong.
"We're asking the state to update its protocols," he told the judge.
But that potentially could trigger a new round of legal challenges, delaying any execution further. The state argued its protocols are acceptable and the new drug has been used in executions around the country.
"They ask for a stay of execution until such time as 'appropriate procedures' can be put in place," assistant Utah Attorney General David Wolf said.
Honie is facing execution next week for the 1998 murder of Claudia Benn. He is accused of breaking into her Cedar City home, slitting her throat and sexually assaulting her with a knife. Prosecutors said her grandchildren were in the home at the time of the murder.
The Utah Board of Pardons & Parole denied Honie's request last week for commutation. At the hearing, Honie admitted to killing Benn, but pleaded for his life to be spared.
Outside of court, Zuckerman suggested to FOX 13 News that Honie may pursue another appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
"The Department of Corrections is going to carry out an execution without written or accurate protocols. I don’t know why they want to do that, but it’s dangerous and we’re going to evaluate our options," he said.
