With Utah preparing for its first execution in 14 years, one of the state’s leading newspapers has issued a call not only to spare Taberon Honie, the prisoner set for execution on August 8, 2024, but to end the practice of capital punishment altogether. In a July 25 editorial, the Salt Lake Tribune highlights Mr. Honie’s abusive upbringing and his sincere remorse for the crime, saying his case for clemency “is strong.” The day after the editorial was published, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied Mr. Honie’s petition.
The editorial goes on to question the continued use of the death penalty. “Globally, the death penalty is a sign of backwardness,” the editorial board writes. It notes the psychological toll on prison workers and the lack of deterrent effect. It concludes, “legislative action to end the death penalty in Utah, ending such cases with life sentences, would mean no more legal dance macabre in our state.”
Sources
Editorial, Utah should spare Taberon Honie, and end the death penalty once and for all, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 25, 2024; Hannah Schoenbaum, Colleen Slevin, and Matthew Brown, Utah officials deny clemency for man set to be executed for 1998 killing of his girlfriend’s mother, Associated Press, July 27, 2024.
