On Friday, the United States government killed an Iowa chemistry student turned meth boss convicted of killing five people. the third execution by the federal government in a week.
Dustin Honken, 52, who prosecutors say killed key witnesses to prevent them from testifying in his case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Two others were also executed during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years.
The first in the series of federal executions occurred on Tuesday, when Daniel Lewis Lee was kill for killing a family in the 1990s as part of a plot to build a white-only nation. Lee’s execution took place only after the United States Supreme Court gave him the green light in a decision 5-4 hours earlier.
Wesley Purkey was the second person be executed this week. His lawyers claimed he had dementia and did not know why he was being executed.
Honken, who had been on death row since 2005, was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m. Members did not say he was sorry. His last words were: “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for me.”
Honken’s attorney, Shawn Nolan, said his client was “redeemed” and had repented for his crimes. Honken was a devout Catholic who “cared about everyone he came into contact with” in prison, Nolan said.
“There was no reason for the government to kill him, in a hurry or at all. In any case, they failed. The Dustin Honken they wanted to kill no longer exists,” Nolan said. “The man they killed today was a human being, who could have spent the rest of his days helping others and redeeming himself even more. May he rest in peace.”
In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Kerri Kupec said “only one punishment has been applied.”
“Almost three decades after Honken coldly ended the lives of five people, including two girls, all in an effort to protect himself and his criminal enterprise, he finally faced justice,” Kupec said.
After officials began administering the lethal injection, Honken began blinking and his fingers trembled. After several minutes his breathing became more labored. He grew paler and paler as the blood drained from his face and hands. His hands gradually stopped shaking and his breathing became shallower.
Honken was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the start of the process, longer than the other two executions. An official with a stethoscope entered the small death chamber, put his fingers on Honken’s neck to check the pulse, listened to the heartbeat, and left.
Seconds later, officials announced the time of death.
Honken, whose crimes committed at the foundations of the United States justice system, always seemed to be the least likely to be delayed by the courts. After the previous two executions were halted and began amid legal round-trip maneuvers, Honken began almost as scheduled.
While on bail in his drug case in July 1993, Honken and his girlfriend Angela Johnson kidnapped Lori Duncan and her two daughters from their Mason City, Iowa home, then killed and buried them in a nearby wooded area. Kandi, 10, and Amber, 6, were still in their swimsuits on the hot summer day when they were shot execution-style in the back of the head.
Her main target that day was Lori Duncan’s then boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived in the house and was also killed. He and Lori Duncan were tied, gagged, and shot multiple times. Honken recently learned that Nicholson, a former drug trafficking associate, was cooperating with investigators and would likely testify against Honken at trial.
Lori Duncan did not know that Nicholson was an informant and was not involved in drugs.
While the investigation into Honken continued, he killed another drug dealer who worked with him, Terry DeGeus, hitting him with a bat and shooting him.
Honken had previously informed the judge in his drug case that he would plead guilty in late July. But days after the still-undiscovered murders of Nicholson and the Duncans, he told the court that he would keep his plea of innocence.
A statement from the Duncan family said the execution provided a degree of justice and closure to the family.
The two young Duncan girls “never had a chance to grow up and share the joys and sorrows of their lives,” she said. “Their mother never saw them have their first dance, their first date, or their first walk down the aisle at their wedding.”
“We will continue to live with their loss,” he said. “However, this is a step towards healing broken hearts and shattered lives.”
Investigators found the bodies of Nicholson and Duncan seven years after the murders, in 2000, after Johnson scribbled a map showing an informant from the jail where they were buried. DeGeus’ body was found a few miles from the wooded area.
Honken was deemed so dangerous that the judge took the rare step of catching an anonymous jury. Other security measures included putting Honken a stun belt under his clothes to prevent him from trying to escape.
Honken’s girlfriend Johnson was sentenced in a separate trial and sentenced to death. A judge later reduced her sentence to life in prison.
In recent days, prison authorities have allowed Honken to make his last calls to family and friends, according to Sister Betty Donoghue, a Catholic nun whom she called on Wednesday.
On death row, Honken befriended Lee and learned that his execution was suspended for one hour, then returned for another hour, Donoghue said.
“I was very upset with the way Danny died,” said Donoghue, who has visited Honken regularly for the past decade.
However, Donoghue, from the Sisters of Providence outside Terre Haute, said she was surprised by how calm Honken sounded on the phone.
“I was at peace. I was totally amazed,” she said. “He believed he would go to heaven. He is ready to meet his creator.”
In his 2005 sentencing, Honken denied having killed anyone, but Donoghue said he never heard him say he was innocent.
Honken’s mother, brother, and college-age daughter visited him in jail in recent days, he said.
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