Family of Utah murder victim wants ‘an eye for an eye’ as inmate’s execution date looms

Associated Press

Family members of a woman killed in 1998 are pressing Utah officials to proceed with the convicted killer’s scheduled Aug. 8 execution. Relatives of victim Claudia Benn offered emotional testimony about the crime on Tuesday before Utah’s parole board. They said her slashing and stabbing death still traumatizes their close-knit Native American community. Inmate Taberon Dave Honie has asked the board to commute his death sentence to life in prison as an act of mercy. He testified Monday that he wasn’t in his “right mind” when he killed his girlfriend’s mother after a day of heavy drinking and drug use. The victim’s relatives oppose his request to the parole board to commute his sentence to life in prison.