"[31], The presiding judge stated, "I am troubled by the lack of certainty in the record concerning the precise involvement of Angela Johnson in these crimes". [39] Circuit Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao wrote concurring opinions concluding that Honken may be executed, but for different reasons. And I have asked to be, where no storms come, where the green swell is in the havens dumb, and out of the swing of the sea. His time of death was marked at 3:36 p.m.Central Daylight Time. A federal judge who ordered two last-minute injunctions before other death row inmates were set to be killed this month declined to do so for Honken. When Cutkomp expressed concern over the murders, Honken said Cobeen forced his hand: "They made me choose between my family and them. In recent days, prison authorities permitted Honken to make his last calls to family and friends, according to Sister Betty Donoghue, a Catholic nun whom he called Wednesday. },false) Dustin Lee Honken (March 22, 1968 July 17, 2020)[1] and Angela Jane Johnson (born January 17, 1964)[2] are American mass murderers convicted of the 1993 murders of five people in Iowa. After the two previous executions were repeatedly delayed amid back-and-forth legal maneuvering, Honkens began almost on the minute it had been scheduled for weeks. Honken, 52, was sentenced to die in October 2005 after being convicted of numerous offenses, including five counts of murder among them two small children during the course of a continuing. [19], In 2000, Johnson's friend, Christi Gaubatz, decided to talk to the police. [24] Tokars testified that Honken described strangling Lori Duncan and Greg Nicholson, and killed the children since "they could have been witnesses." On October 27, 2004, jurors recommended life sentences for Honken for killing the adult victims and death sentences for killing the children. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. Its unclear what that training involved, but records show it cost thousands of dollars. The decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is one of the latest unsuccessful efforts to delay the execution of Dustin Lee Honken, an Iowa man convicted of five murders, including two . For his last words, he turned to the writings of a Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, reciting lines from the poem Heaven-Haven. },false) In July 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the conviction, finding sufficient evidence to conclude that Johnson had participated in the murders. Michael Conroy/AP Honken, whose crimes struck at the foundation of the U.S. justice system, always seemed the least likely to win a reprieve from the courts. On death row, Honken befriended Lee and knew his execution was called off one hour, then was back on another hour, Donoghue said. }); "[7][15], After Cutkomp gave the recordings to federal investigators, Honken's bond was revoked. is a staff writer whose book, "Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty," won the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Work-In-Progress Book Award. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ (The records list only $33.11 for Dustin Lee Honken' s dinner from Pizza Hut, and $0 spent when Keith Dwayne Nelson refused a meal .) Dustin's last meal was Pizza Hut his bill came to $33.11 Dustin Honken, was convicted of five counts of Continuing Criminal Enterprise murder. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. At the time of his death, Honken had served more than 22 years in an Indiana prison. ", "During his time in prison, he cared for everyone he came into contact with: guards, counselors, medical staff, his fellow inmates and his legal team. An appellate court agreed, adding that "one can easily conclude from witnesses' testimony that appellee caused the disappearance of one or more persons, including prospective prosecution witnesses, in 1993. Lee was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital at 8:07 AM, just hours after the Supreme Court gave a go-ahead to the Trump administration. For Stubbs and the ACLU, the bureaus lack of forthrightness suggests there are still more costs it hasnt revealed. His biological father, Jim Honken, allegedly beat him, was an alcoholic, and served time in federal prison after committing multiple bank robberies. Yet, Marge knew foul play was involved as she never heard from her daughter or grandchildren again. To minimize potential prejudice, the court ordered for officers not to move Honken in the presence of the jury and that table skirts be placed on the counsel tables so the jury would be unable to see the shackles. Later that month, she was re-sentenced to life in prison without parole. hitType: 'event', (AP) The U.S. government on Friday put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin convicted of killing five people, capping a week in which the Trump administration restored federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. Honken grew up in Britt, Iowa. But nearly seven years after five people went missing, including witnesses scheduled to testify against Honken regarding his meth operation, a mobbed-up jailhouse informant would lead investigators to the victims bodies and a murder plot would unravel. 2d 663", "Judge removes Iowa woman from death row", "Dustin Lee Honken - Federal Execution - July 17, 2020", "Judge temporarily stops execution of north Iowa mass murderer Dustin Honken", "Supreme Court keeps federal executions, including that of Iowa murderer Dustin Lee Honken, on hold", "Administration seeks resumption of federal executions", "Federal Executions Can Restart After Supreme Court Declines a Case", "Higher courts rebuff late legal efforts, Iowan Dustin Honken put to death", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1993_Iowa_murders&oldid=1152124538. [7] Prosecutors played a tape in which Honken was recorded saying that he liked killing people and compared the feeling to getting high on drug. Moments before being sentenced Honken maintained his innocence, accusing the judge in his case of having a "death agenda." Honken was convicted in October 2004 of murder in the 1993 deaths of five North Iowans. [29], In June 2005, a federal jury condemned Johnson to death on four counts. After several minutes his breathing became more labored. Follow her on Twitter @courtneycare. While in jail, Honken confessed to fellow inmates that he'd killed witnesses from an earlier case. She offered a measure of apology at her first sentencing in 2005, saying she wanted to tell law enforcement about the killings, but feared for her life. His last words were, Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for me.. (The records list only $33.11 for Dustin Lee Honkens dinner from Pizza Hut, and $0 spent when Keith Dwayne Nelson refused a meal.) It will bring a sense of closure, but we will continue to live with their loss. [] Thought I'd have nightmares. The hotel was nice enough, and only a 10-minute drive from the federal execution chamber in Terre Haute where the man who killed Muellers father would take his last breath. }); Brown said that in order to visit her son and witness his execution, she took out a loan. Honken was sentenced to death and executed by the federal government on July 17, 2020,[4] the first defendant from Iowa to be executed since 1963. Dustin Honken, 52, who prosecutors said killed key witnesses to stop them from testifying in his drugs case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. "Finally justice is being done. However, he declined to rule on whether Honken likely had a role in the 1993 disappearances. Its also not clear how many prison workers flew to Indiana or how many nights they stayed, but Mueller said at least a few guards were at the Holiday Inn with him and other witnesses in July. I deeply regret the pain I caused to my daughter, who I love so very much. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but federal. Jim once convinced his son to steal and copy a key to a bank. Lees execution, like Purkeys, went ahead only after the U.S. Supreme Court gave it a green light in a 5-4 decision hours before. [36], On December 5, 2019, the Supreme Court denied a stay of Chutkan's injunction, while the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reviewed Chutkan's decision. Although it was Honken who pulled the trigger, killing three adults and two children, Angela Johnson received the death penalty for four of the victims, while Honken was sentenced to death for only the . On another occasion, Honken tried to drown Alyssa in a hotel pool. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { The agency also fed the guards and some of the other law enforcement agencies that came to help with outside security, racking up a tab of more than $3,990 for snacks and light refreshments.. Honken had a healthy relationship with his stepfather.[6]. He was pronounced dead at 3:36p.m. }); The two-night hotel stay cost around $200, and the tab was picked up by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. His biological father, Jim Honken, allegedly beat him, was an alcoholic, and served time in federal prison after committing multiple bank robberies. The guards told him theyd come in from out-of-state, he said, and records show the bureau spent roughly $3.1 million on unidentified costs associated with the staff it brought in from more than two dozen prisons across the country. The attorneys of each convict tried to block their clients' executions in last-ditch attempts to save their lives, two of them nearly succeeded only for the Supreme Court to ultimately give the green light to the Trump administration to go ahead. Honken had threatened Nicholson in the past, saying he could order a hit on him or anyone else if he wanted. window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} ET Friday. The single mother was a Navy veteran, an Elvis Presley fan, and tended to find the good in people. On July 17, 2020, Honken was executed by lethal injection. I wish there was some way to go back and start over, but obviously there isn't. By 1992, their multi-state ring was netting hundreds of thousands of dollars. eventAction: 'view' After convincing Honken, then a recent high school graduate, to steal and copy the key to a local bank, his father robbed it. The execution of Dustin Lee Honken proceeded without any last-minute delays, unlike those of the two other federal inmates who had been put to death in previous days. Later, after learning DeGeus also agreed to cooperate with authorities, Johnson tricked him into taking her to a vacant farm where Honken beat and killed him. Honken an Iowa meth kingpin who kidnapped and killed five people, including two young girls, to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking in 1993 is set to become the third federal inmate to be executed this week. Yet Donoghue, of the Sisters of Providence just outside Terre Haute, said she was startled by how calm Honken sounded over the phone. He'd apologized, saying "I wasn't expecting things to go this way. Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. Honken's execution was the last one in this weeklong spree. Knowing that youre behind us means so much. In 1963, Victor Feguer, who kidnapped and killed a Dubuque doctor, was executed by hanging at the Iowa State Penitentiary. While Honken's execution is the last one in this weeklong spree, Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Johnson was originally sentenced to death for her part in the crime but had her sentence reduced to life in prison. Other van rentals for shuttling around staff and witnesses totaled at least $4,500 over the five executions, while a bus rental cost $6,330. }); They drove the hostages to a wooded area outside the city and shot them execution-style. "It sickens me to know what happened, she said, even more so not to tell anyone.. The government is doing so much of this in the dark, so we dont always get to see the full weight of what its up to, said Cassy Stubbs, director of the ACLUs Capital Punishment Project. Lets find out. The Bureau of Prisons refused to comment on the payment records or to answer questions about the operations outlined in the documents. [7], On July 30, 1993, Honken gave his attorney the recording and said he was changing his plea. [7] Another inmate said Honken killed "rats" and children "raised by rats". Honken, 52, was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m. Eastern time after officials at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, administered a lethal dose of pentobarbital, according to the Des Moines Register, which had a reporter present. A former Fulbright and H.F. Guggenheim fellow, he has reported on a range of criminal justice subjects, including jail conditions, sheriffs, wrongful convictions, and art by incarcerated people. }); Investigators found the Nicholson and Duncan bodies only seven years after the killings, in 2000, after Johnson scrawled out a map showing a jailhouse informant where they were buried. With no witnesses, the government dropped their drug case in 1995 and Honken went back to making meth. Dustin Honken, 52, would become the first Iowa defendant to be put to death since 1963 if he is executed as scheduled on Friday. He said Honken was "a young man infatuated with drug manufacturing, basically a nerd.[7]. [20][21], During his resentencing hearing in January 2000, Honken, asked for leniency, saying he had successfully participated in a drug rehabilitation program and taken educational programs. Honken is set to die by a lethal. A statement from the Department of Justice echoed the Duncans' sentiment that due process had been seen through. During this time, he plotted to murder Cobeen, police officers, and chemists, and to destroy evidence against him. We believe that he was ready to take violent actions again. Dustin Honken, Iowa born and bred, inmate #06951-029, was executed in July at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. Honken would become the first defendant from Iowa to die from capital punishment since 1963 if his lethal injection takes place as scheduled on Friday, July 17, 2020 in Terre Haute, Ind. Congressional Democrats have unveiled legislation this year to abolish the federal death penalty, a goal President-elect Joe Biden says he supports. None of those sorts of funeral expenses are noted in records for the July and August executions provided to the ACLU. However, she panicked when she drove by Loris apartment the following day, on July 26. Department of. His lawyers contended he had dementia and didnt know why he was being executed. [41][42], Honken leaving a federal courthouse after being sentenced on October 11, 2005, Guilty plea to manufacturing and distributing meth, Johnson's trial, sentencing, and commutation, Murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise, Conspiracy to commit murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise, Conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and to solicit the murder of witnesses, Attempting to manufacture methamphetamine, Conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Capital punishment by the United States federal government, List of people executed by the United States federal government, List of people executed in the United States in 2020, List of serial killers in the United States, "Dustin Lee Honken: US government executes 3rd federal inmate this week", Judge vacates Angela Johnson's death sentence, "Iowa Drug Kingpin Who Killed 5 People in 1993 to Be Executed", "July execution scheduled for Iowa native Dustin Lee Honken, convicted in 2004 of murdering 5", "Infamous Iowa murderer Dustin Honken to be executed in 2020", "Honken v. 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