The question before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole is a narrow one. Should Taberon Honie, convicted and sentenced to death in the 1998 murder of his ex-girlfriend’s mother, be spared the ultimate punishment?
Honie’s case is strong and the board would demonstrate great humanity by granting his petition.
The man’s whole life up to that horrible day was a tale of abuse and neglect, alcohol and drugs, seriously impairing his judgment and his ability to control himself. He admits the crime, though he says he does not clearly remember it, shows great remorse and now pleads only to be spared the death penalty. In part because his daughter, who has already lost her grandmother, does not want to lose her father as well.
Honie does not expect to ever be released from prison. He claims, reasonably, not to be a threat to anyone ever again.
The question before the rest of us, not within the purview of the pardons board, is a larger one. Does the death penalty have a place in a civilized society?
It does not.
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