Utah officials denied clemency Friday to a man who is set to be executed for the stabbing death of his girlfriend's mother in 1998.
The decision regarding the fate of Taberon Dave Honie, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Aug. 8 , was announced in a one-paragraph notice from Scott Stephenson, chair of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
"After carefully reviewing all submitted information and considering all arguments from the parties, the Board does not find sufficient cause to commute Mr. Honie's death sentence," Stephenson wrote.
During a two-day commutation hearing this week, Honie asked the parole board to commute his sentence to life in prison, saying he would never have killed 49-year-old Claudia Benn after a day of heavy drinking and drug use had he been in his "right mind."
Honie told the board he wanted to continue to live to be a support for his mother and his daughter. After the ruling his attorneys expressed sadness and disappointment, saying their client is no longer the same person and is demonstrating in prison that he can live a nonviolent life.
