The US government killed an Iowa chemistry student turned meth boss on Friday convicted of killing five people, the third federal government execution in a week.
Dustin Honken, who prosecutors say killed key witnesses to prevent them from testifying in his drug case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Ind. Two others were also executed during the week after a parenthesis of nearly 20 years old, including Kansan Wesley Purkey. His lawyers claimed he had dementia and did not know why he was being executed.
The first in a series of federal executions occurred Tuesday, when Daniel Lewis Lee was killed for killing a family in the 1990s as part of a plot to build a white-only nation. Lee’s execution, like Purkey’s, went ahead only after the United States Supreme Court gave him the green light in a decision 5-4 hours earlier.
Honken, from Britt, Iowa, had been sentenced to death since 2005 and was the first Iowan with an Iowa jury-imposed death sentence carried out since 1963. Iowa imposed the death penalty of state statutes in 1965, but Honken was eligible for the death penalty under US law because he was tried in federal court
Honken was pronounced dead at 4:36 pm, the Bureau of Prisons said.
The inmate, known for his verbosity at trial and for making a lengthy statement of his innocence at his sentencing, spoke only briefly, without addressing the victims’ families or saying 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 disappeared long ago, ”said Nolan. “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. “
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.
Mark Bennett, the now-retired federal judge who oversaw Honken’s 2004 trial of kidnappings and murders, previously said he generally opposed the death penalty. But if anyone deserved it, he added, it was Honken.
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.
Investigators found the bodies of Nicholson and Duncan just seven years later, 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. Bennett then 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. “I thought I would go to heaven. It is ready to meet its 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-aged daughter visited him in jail in recent days, he said.
Honken grew up in the city of Britt, in the north of Iowa, son of an alcoholic father with convictions of robbery to a bank. But Honken was considered brilliant and good at math. He then studied chemistry at a community college, before dropping out of school to pursue a drug career.
He moved to Arizona and used his chemistry experience to produce highly purified methamphetamine in hopes of getting rich. He and a friend distributed his product through distributors based in Mason City, Iowa.
At the trial, Honken’s attorney, Alfredo Parrish, tried unsuccessfully to soften his client’s image, describing him to the jury as “basically a nerd” who fell in love with drug manufacturing.
