Utah
Utah man put to death by lethal injection in state’s first execution since 2010
A Utah man who killed his girlfriend’s mother by slashing her throat was put to death by lethal injection early on Thursday in the state’s first execution since 2010.
Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn, the maternal grandmother of his now 27-year-old daughter, Tressa.
Honie was pronounced dead at 12:25am local time in an execution that went as planned and took about 17 minutes. He tapped his foot and mouthed “I love you” to family members watching from a witness chamber after he was given the lethal injection of two doses of pentobarbital.
Honie was 22 when he broke into Benn’s house in Cedar City, the tribal headquarters of the Paiute Indian tribe of Utah, after a day of heavy drinking and drug use. He repeatedly slashed Benn’s throat and stabbed other parts of her body. The judge who sentenced him to death also found that Honie had sexually abused one of Benn’s other grandchildren who was in the house with a then two-year-old Tressa at the time of the murder.
Honie, who had grown up on the Hopi Indian reservation in Arizona, spent the evening with his daughter and other immediate family before the execution. He told Tressa earlier this week that he had come to terms with his fate and hoped she could too, she told the Associated Press.
After the medical team removed Honie’s body from the chamber, his family was allowed in to perform a Native American grieving ritual with bird feathers and cornmeal that they told officers would help free his soul after death.
Outside the prison, a group of anti-death penalty protesters sang Amazing Grace and held signs that said, “All life is precious.”
After decades of failed appeals, Honie’s execution warrant was signed in June despite defense objections to the planned lethal drug. In July, the state changed its execution protocol to using only a high dose of pentobarbital – the nervous system suppressant used to euthanize pets.
The Utah board of pardons and parole denied Honie’s petition to commute his sentence to life in prison after a July hearing during which Honie’s attorneys described his troubled childhood growing up on the reservation with parents who abused alcohol. He had started using hard drugs as a teenager and told the parole board he would not have killed Benn if he had been in his “right mind”. He asked the board to allow him “to exist” so he could be a support for his daughter.
Tressa Honie told the board she had a complicated relationship with her mother and would lose her most supportive parent if her father were to be executed. She said in an interview on Tuesday that she was not ready to lose her dad and felt abandoned by family on her mother’s side who had fought for his execution.
Benn’s close family argued that Taberon Honie deserved no mercy, and they said his execution was the justice they needed after decades of grief.
“He deserves an eye for an eye,” said Benn’s niece, Sarah China Azule.
She and her cousins described Benn as a pillar in their family and south-western Utah community. She was a Paiute tribal council member, substance abuse counselor and caregiver for her children and grandchildren.
Hours before Honie’s execution, a man described by his lawyers as intellectually disabled was executed in Texas for strangling and trying to rape a woman who went jogging near her Houston home more than 27 years ago.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Utah and Salt Lake County a total of $3.5 million in grants to assess potentially polluted properties for eventual cleanup and redevelopment.
The agency announced a $2 million grant to Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality and $1.5 million to Salt Lake County to conduct environmental assessments and inventory brownfield sites for cleanup. Brownfields are sites that may be difficult to redevelop or expand because of “the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant,” according to the agency.
“These brownfields grants will help Utah communities clean up contaminated sites and unlock opportunities for redevelopment and investment,” EPA Regional Administrator Cyrus Western said in a news release announcing the grants earlier this week. “By transforming underused properties into community assets, EPA is helping create healthier neighborhoods and stronger local economies.”
The two grants awarded to Utah and Salt Lake County are among more than $248 million awarded to nearly 200 communities nationwide for brownfield assessment and cleanup. Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality plans to focus the resources on several areas in Ogden, Heber City and Fillmore, among others, according to Bill Rees, who leads Utah’s brownfield cleanup program.
“What we do is work to secure the funding and then begin to reach out to our communities across the state, say, ‘Listen, there’s opportunity to do some assessment work in your community if you’re interested,’ and then work with our rural partners, work with our urban partners to see if there are sites that will fit that bill,” he told KSL.
The state has received similar grants in the past, and Rees said the money can help local governments determine what to do with ailing properties such as old schools, hospitals or private property that have gone to waste.
“Is there asbestos in it, or is there hazardous material in it? Or could there be something that’s impacting the soil or the groundwater, and a policymaker needs to make a decision?” asked Rees. “Knowledge allows you to make good decisions.”
The $1.5 million awarded to Salt Lake County is the largest brownfields assessment grant the county has ever received, according to a county press release.
“This grant is a real win for our communities,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This funding will let us do vital environmental work on a larger scale and in more neighborhoods. It reflects exactly the kind of partnership between local and federal government that gets results for residents.”
The county grant funds will be used to help create cleanup plans in three areas, including a vehicle storage yard in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark Neighborhood, a 4.26-acre vacant lot in Millcreek and a small commercial building in Magna that was damaged during an earthquake in March 2020, according to the EPA.
Contributing: Don Brinkherhoff
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued red flag warning Friday morning as emergency workers continued to battle one of the state’s largest wildfires in its history.
The red flag warning, issued when critical fire warnings are occurring or imminent, was to be in place through midnight Saturday.
“This is the FIRST Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning issued in NWS Salt Lake City history. This is an exceptionally rare event,” the federal agency said in its warning.
A map of the area under the warning covered much of central and southwest Utah, with an area of the southwest, central and southern mountains also outlined as “particularly dangerous red flag.”
The particularly dangerous area includes the Cottonwood Fire, near the town of Beaver, which started Monday and had grown to covering almost nearly 71,000 acres by Thursday, 15 News reported. The fire forced evacuations.
The NWS warned that gusty winds and dry conditions would lead to rapid fire growth.
Utah also was dealing with the Iron Fire, which started June 19, and nearly destroyed the town of Eureka. The fire was about 27% contained Friday morning.
The fire danger led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue executive order restricting fireworks statewide during the July 4 holiday, which marks the nation’s 250th birthday this year. The ban is in effect through July 5.
“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said in a statement issued by his office Thursday.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. We’re seeing fires spread farther and faster under conditions that defy historical expectations” Jamie Barnes, Utah state forester and director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, added in the statement.
Cox allowed cities and local communities to set aside areas where fireworks could be safely used. The city of Provo announced it would enforce a citywide prohibition on fireworks and would not designate a safe area for fireworks.
“This year is different,” Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins said in a statement. “The wildfire danger facing our community is real, and protecting lives, homes, and our natural spaces must come first.”
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Earlier this month, 2News Investigates brought you a former inmate’s federal lawsuit alleging Utah Department of Corrections leaders failed to address reports of alleged sexual assault by correctional officers. Now, 2News Investigates examines another key claim in that lawsuit.
MORE: Federal lawsuit alleges Utah prison leaders covered up guards’ sexual assaults on inmates
The lawsuit alleges a mass cross-gender strip-search operation – women being viewed by men was intended to further silence female inmates.
Federal law generally prohibits cross-gender strip searches of female inmates except during emergencies or when conducted by medical personnel. UDC says that during body-search procedures, male correctional officers are not allowed in the immediate area and inmate privacy is maintained. Former inmates say that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Three former inmates agreed to speak with 2News Investigates but asked that their identities not be revealed.
“It was very traumatic.”
According to the lawsuit, on May 13, 2025, UDC carried out a large-scale operation known as a “reset” in women’s housing units at the Utah State Correctional Facility (USCF) in Salt Lake City.
Wendy: “They call it a reset. What do you call it?”
“A violation.”
“It’s like a rape.”
The lawsuit alleges UDC Deputy Warden Derick Zorn and Warden Sharon D’Amico directed the operation, along with more than a dozen members of the Critical Incident Response Team, or CIRT.
According to the plaintiffs, officers stormed dormitories, shouted profanities, and issued conflicting commands.
The women say and the lawsuit states they were ordered to pack their belongings into totes and change into state-issued uniforms in front of male CIRT officers. They were then marched to the Emerald Building for processing.
“It felt almost like we were at a concentration camp.”
The lawsuit alleges the women were required to undergo body scans and then strip completely naked. Plaintiffs claim they were ordered to lift their breasts, spread their buttocks, and cough while visible to male staff.
Women who were menstruating allegedly were instructed to remove menstrual products in full view of others.
“Just use one hand to remove it. Hold it up in front of you.”
“I felt really small and worthless.”
The lawsuit alleges some women were forced to hold soiled menstrual pads while performing physical maneuvers.
“I just did what I was told. I just wanted to get it over with.”
The plaintiffs also claim they were required to sit on toilets or squat to provide urine samples while completely naked and visible to male officers.
“It was humiliating. It was degrading.”
The lawsuit further alleges cell doors were left open, exposing naked women to other inmates and male staff.
An overhead observation booth with reflective glass overlooked the strip-search area. Plaintiffs say they observed movement inside and believed they were being watched from above.
The lawsuit alleges the female inmates were being watched from above during a mass strip search on May 13, 2025
“I could see in the overhead, the two-way mirror. There were multiple men walking around up there who had direct vision inside those cells.”
The lawsuit alleges Captain Jared Beers and Lieutenant Matthew Coombs were inside the booth and that Deputy Warden Derick Zorn observed women in various states of undress.
“I made eye contact with Officer Arroyo, and I also saw Deputy Zorn.”
“I knew if I could see the male officers, they could see me.”
One former inmate described the experience as state-sanctioned sexual violence.
“When that happens, and you’ve gone through the same kind of thing as a child, it’s very traumatic.”
The lawsuit alleges Warden D’Amico knew male officers were viewing naked female inmates and “ratified, condoned, and failed to stop it.”
An allegation in the lawsuit filed on May 15, 2026
“You’re pretty much a hostage.”
UDC Executive Director Jared Garcia declined repeated requests for an on-camera interview. A letter sent said:
“During the body search process in female living areas, male correctional officers are not allowed in the immediate area, and privacy is maintained. In general, resets are conducted routinely, according to UDC policy and under strict protocols designed to ensure safety while also preserving the privacy and dignity of incarcerated individuals.”
“The manner matters.”
Walter Mason represents the plaintiffs.
He told 2News Investigates, “The law protects inmates from being exposed to members of the opposite sex viewing their naked bodies unless there’s an emergency. Unless there’s what the law calls an exigent circumstance, the prison can take necessary actions to protect safety. There was no emergency. There was no exigency.”
UDC says the reset involved approximately 150 trained staff members and was conducted according to department policy.
UDC’s letter goes on to say:
“Every effort was made to treat belongings with care and document confiscated items appropriately. UDC stands by our methods and policies, which are intended to maintain the highest standards of integrity, safety, and efficiency during the reset process.”
Written response from the Utah Department of Corrections regarding 2News investigations
I asked UDC whether any exigent circumstances existed on May 13, 2025, during the reset operation.
The response:
“No exigent circumstances occurred on May 13, 2025.”
I also requested information about what items were confiscated. UDC said it could not provide a specific list.
Response to questions posed by 2News Investigates to UDC regarding mass strip search and if exigent circumstances existed that day
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and accuses the defendants, all supervisors, of participating in a “coordinated effort to humiliate, mock, and psychologically degrade the plaintiffs … operating with a brazen and intentional disregard for clearly established law, fueled by an institutional custom of impunity.”
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