Utah

Utah scraps untested lethal drug combination for man's August execution

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2024

Utah officials said Saturday that they are scrapping plans to use an untested lethal drug combination in next month’s planned execution of a man in a 1998 murder case. They will instead seek out a drug that’s been used previously in executions in numerous states.

Defense attorneys for Taberon Dave Honie, 49, had sued in state court to stop the use of the drug combination, saying it could cause the defendant “excruciating suffering.”

The execution scheduled for Aug. 8 would be Utah’s first since the 2010 execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner, by firing squad.

Honie was convicted of aggravated murder in the stabbing of his girlfriend’s mother, Claudia Benn, 49.

After decades of failed appeals, Honie’s execution warrant was signed last month despite defense objections to the planned lethal drug combination.

They said the first two drugs he was to have been given —- the sedative ketamine and the anesthetic fentanyl — would not adequately prevent Honie from feeling pain when potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart.

In response, the Utah Department of Corrections has decided to instead use a single drug — pentobarbital. Agency spokesperson Glen Mills said attorneys for the state filed court documents overnight Friday asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.

“We will obtain and use pentobarbital for the execution,” Mills said. He said agency officials still believe the three-drug combination was effective and humane.

State officials previously acknowledged that they knew of no other cases of the three-drug combination being used in an execution.

At least 14 states have used pentobarbital in executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

However, there’s been evidence that pentobarbital also can cause extreme pain, including in federal executions carried out in the last months of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Honie’s attorney in the lawsuit, federal defender Eric Zuckerman, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Meanwhile, a hearing is scheduled for Monday on Honie’s request to the state parole board to commute his death sentence to life in prison.

Honie’s lawyers said in a petition last month that a traumatic and violent childhood coupled with his long-time drug abuse, a previous brain injury and extreme intoxication fueled Honie’s behavior when he broke into his Benn’s house and killed her.

They blamed poor legal advice for allowing Honie — a native of the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona — to be sentenced by a judge instead of a jury that might have been more sympathetic and spared him the death penalty.

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Utah

More office buildings converted into apartments across Utah, nation

Published

7 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

More office buildings converted into apartments across Utah, nation

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Empty office buildings are being redesigned into rental apartments in Utah and across the nation.

A handful of new apartment projects are being constructed in old office buildings right in Salt Lake City.

Projects like Arbor 515 in downtown Salt Lake City and Seraph at South Temple have created over 300 rental units in existing buildings. 600 office-to-apartment units are now in progress, according to RentCafe.

Nationwide, over 90,000 apartments were in the process of conversion at the start of this year. According to RentCafe, that’s up 28% from about a year ago.

While Utah has its own mix of projects, New York, Washington DC, and Chicago lead the nation with the most conversion projects.

Researchers explained that since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been too much office space on the market. RentCafe says financial pressure and government-backed incentives are encouraging office to apartment living.

The rental site states that office-to-apartment conversions take several years to complete and are slower due to structural constraints, high construction costs, financing hurdles, and local regulatory requirements.

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Utah

Utah faces Denver on home slide :: WRALSportsFan.com

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

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Utah faces Denver on home slide :: WRALSportsFan.com

By The Associated Press

Denver Nuggets (48-28, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-55, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Utah aims to end its four-game home losing streak with a win over Denver.

The Jazz are 1-13 in division play. Utah allows the most points in the Western Conference, giving up 125.4 points and is allowing opponents to shoot 49.2%.

The Nuggets are 8-5 against the rest of their division. Denver is fifth in the league with 28.8 assists per game led by Nikola Jokic averaging 10.8.

The Jazz are shooting 46.6% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 46.9% the Nuggets allow to opponents. The Nuggets average 14.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 fewer made shots on average than the 15.3 per game the Jazz give up.

The teams square off for the fourth time this season. The Nuggets won the last matchup 135-129 on March 28. Jokic scored 33 points to help lead the Nuggets to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is shooting 49.5% and averaging 11.1 points for the Jazz. Ace Bailey is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Jokic is averaging 27.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 1-9, averaging 116.8 points, 41.2 rebounds, 29.4 assists, 10.3 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 127.6 points per game.

Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 127.0 points, 45.2 rebounds, 32.8 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Elijah Harkless: out (hamstring), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji: day to day (hip), Spencer Jones: day to day (hamstring), Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), Cameron Johnson: day to day (back).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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