I wish there was some way to go back and start over, but obviously there isn't. His execution is fast approaching and he is scheduled to die on July 17th at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. }); While awaiting trial, she met Robert Gene McNeese, a career criminal and informant who was serving a life sentence. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, including Wesley Purkey. That stint was short-lived, however, as he was picked up on new drug charges when his garage was raided in 1996. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of The 68-year-old, who was reportedly suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's, before his execution, said: "I deeply regret the pain and suffering I caused to Jennifers family. After several minutes his breathing became more labored. Dustin eventually released his sister. [8], The defense did not have Rickert take the stand out of the fear that she might conclude Honken was a sociopath or had narcissistic personality disorder. No state would commit the resources I did to the defense of a death Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. Brown said that in order to visit her son and witness his execution, she took out a loan. However, what he ultimately ate may remain a mystery. Upon appeal, Angela Johnson's death sentence was reduced to life in prison. [35], On July 25, 2019, United States Attorney General William Barr announced that the moratorium on federal executions would be lifted after approving the use of the single drug pentobarbital for federal executions. A coroner pronounced him dead by lethal injection at 4:36 p.m. [39] Circuit Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao wrote concurring opinions concluding that Honken may be executed, but for different reasons. Purkey, a 68-year-old on death row for rape and murders in 1998, was executed on Thursday, July 16, by lethal injection as the Trump administration carried out its second federal execution. In 1963, Victor Feguer, who kidnapped and killed a Dubuque doctor, was executed by hanging at the Iowa State Penitentiary. The agency refused to answer any questions about the money, procedures or details of what happened. Within a year, Honken and his childhood friend, Tim Cutkomp, had moved to Arizona, built a sophisticated methamphetamine cooking setup and all but perfected a recipe for pure meth, which they sold mainly through two dealers in northeast Iowa: DeGeus, 32, and Greg Nicholson, 34. Department of Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec said ending Honken's life was the culmination of "just punishment" being carried out. In 1990, Honken raped and threatened his girlfriend. We owe it to the victims of these horrific crimes, and to the families left behind, to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system, Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement. Honkens mother, brother and college-age daughter visited him in prison in recent days, she said. The government paid for snacks, drinks and pizza. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Even as it paid for tents and memory cards and planes and pizza, the agencys largesse did not extend to the families of the condemned, who had to pay for their own travel and accommodations. However, he declined to rule on whether Honken likely had a role in the 1993 disappearances. Dustin Honken, 52, who prosecutors said killed key witnesses to stop them from testifying in his case, received a lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.. While out on bond in his drugs 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 wooded area nearby. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. On February 7, 1996, officers executed a search warrant on Honken's house and discovered his meth lab, chemicals, equipment, books, and notes, including ones on manufacturing drugs and how to bind and gag people. 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. Honken and Cutkomp were promptly arrested on federal drug-trafficking charges. The Archbishop of Newark, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, had written to President Donald Trump in early July 2020 asking him to commute Honken's sentence, claiming that he had witnessed Honken's "spiritual growth in faith and compassion". MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. The two started a romantic relationship and Johnson soon became pregnant with Honken's child. } pg.acq.push(function() { The first in the spate federal executions happened Tuesday, when Daniel Lewis Lee was put to death for killing a family in the 1990s as part of a plot to build a whites-only nation. When the time of death was. Attorney General William Barr relaunched executions this week for the first time since 2003. "They are people who have no future," referring to the inmates. Department of. hide caption. Dustin Honken is led by federal marshals to a waiting car after the second day of jury selection in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, on 2004. . During that first execution and those that followed, the prisoners ate sack lunches and box meals after the mess hall closed for the lockdown. On top of that, the bureau spent $6,594 on bottled water, $6,480 on single-serving bags of potato chips and $12,998 on disposable trays and baggies to deliver it all. Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice, A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. I am deeply sorry. His lawyers pointed to the lack of physical evidence linking him to the murders. He turned increasingly ashen as blood drained from his face and hands. Law enforcement had enough evidence to believe Johnson had something to do with the murders, though Honken remained their suspected triggerman. She and Dustin were charged with the murders in 2001, with the latter being convicted of all 17 counts against him, including five counts of murder, on October 14, 2004. He had worn a wire, recorded him making drug deals, and handed the recordings to the authorities in exchange for a lenient prison term. Purkey, the night before he was put to death, saw Bill Clinton on television and said that he intended to vote for him in November elections. Susan Negersmith was a 20 year-old woman from Carmel, New York. Upon learning that she had been tricked, Johnson attempted to hang herself. Johnson admitted that she was involved in Honken's crimes, but blamed him for the murders and said he had manipulated her. Death-row inmate Dustin Lee Honken, who killed a family of four, including two children and another person, was executed on Friday, July 17, at 4 pm local time, marking the government's third federal execution in a month after 17 years. He later said that he had initially planned to become a pharmaceutical lawyer. He and Lori Duncan were bound and gagged and shot multiple times. 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. Dustin Honken, Iowa born and bred, inmate #06951-029, was executed in July at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. Lets find out. He then came back for the children and shot them, too. He then did the same to the children. [7], Honken was released on bond and searched for Nicholson's whereabouts. ", "The reason for us being present today was not to watch a man die. 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. 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.. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { 3d 937", "From meth to murder: How a small-town Iowa boy became the state's first death row inmate in 50 years", "FindLaw's United States Eighth Circuit case and opinions", "Witnesses Testify about Honken's Drug Operation", "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. ANGELA JOHNSON", "184 F3d 961 United States of America v. Dustin Lee Honken", "Fred Tokars, lawyer who set up murder of his wife, dies in prison", "OPINION: Maybe wife-killer Fred Tokars got a fate worse than death", "Iowa meth kingpin is 3rd executed by US government this week", "Johnson v. United States, 860 F. Supp. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), [40] On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court denied Honken's petition for review, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.[40]. }) 0. The murders took place in Iowa in July and November 1993. eventAction: 'render' Dustin Honken is up for execution for the murder of five . "[30] She called him a "sociopath who will never admit to what he has done. [9], Johnson was born in Forest City, Iowa. During the summer of 2020, Dustin Honken [7] Within a year, Honken and Cutkomp managed to produce several pounds of nearly pure meth, which they sold in northeast Iowa, primarily through two dealers: Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson. The death penalty is in flux. [40] Circuit Judge David S. Tatel dissented, arguing the statute explicitly requires the federal government to follow state execution protocols. Dennis Putzier said Honken had bragged about murdering witnesses in 1993. 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. [3] His father, Jim Honken, was an alcoholic schemer who was allegedly neglectful. Johnson's defense team pointed to her dysfunctional upbringing and argued that she did not know Honken was going to kill the victims. His biological father, Jim Honken, allegedly beat him, was an alcoholic, and served time in federal prison after committing multiple bank robberies. 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. Here's why it probably isn't coming back. Dustin switched to methamphetamine, enlisting the help of his best friend, Tim Cutkomp, and moved to Arizona to set up his drug empire. He compared the feeling of killing someone to a football game, saying, "Once you go a certain distance, there ain't no turning back. During one of their drug runs, Dustin met Angela Johnson, Terrys erstwhile girlfriend, and the two struck up a business relationship that soon evolved into a romantic one. Here's what Lee, Purkey, and Honken wished to eat for their final meals and the words they spoke as they left the world: Lee, a 47-year-old white supremacist, who tortured and killed an Arkansas family in 1996, was executed in Indiana early morning on Tuesday, June 14. Honken,a community college drop-out who created his meth empire in the early 1990s,was the third federal prisoner executed this week. She described Honken as a meth kingpin, who in 1993, "kidnapped, fatally shot, and buried Lori Duncan, a single, working mother, Duncan's two young daughters 10-year-old Kandi and 6-year-old Amber and Greg Nicholson, a government informant who testified against Honken on federal drug trafficking charges.". Moreover, Terry informed his mother that he was meeting his former girlfriend, Angela Johnson. Honkens lawyer, Shawn Nolan, said his client was redeemed and had repented for his crimes. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), There are some small expenses that appear to be absent, such as last meals for three of the prisoners. He was very upset with the way Danny died, said Donoghue, who visited Honken regularly over the past decade. The shackles were fitted with a chain so Honken could move normally without the shackles making noise. After a court found that Honken posed an extreme security risk due to his history of escape attempts and threatening witnesses, he was ordered to wear a stun belt and be shackled and bolted to the floor during his trial. He killed five people, including two young girls, in 1993. But his lawyer, Shawn Nolan, countered, saying that Honken had been "redeemed" and that he "recognized and repented for the crimes he had committed. Dustin Honken, a nerd turned drug kingpin, will become the only Iowan since 1963 to have the death sentence an Iowa jury imposed seen through on Friday, July 17, 2020. He plotted to murder Cutkomp and gave a fellow inmate directions to Cutkomp's house. CNN The US government on Friday executed Dustin Lee Honken, the third federal inmate to receive the death penalty this week after the punishment was revived by the Trump administration. eventAction: 'load' Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. He believed he would go to heaven. Inside, 2,600 prisoners in the two-prison complex were locked down. Terry was lying face down in a shallow hole with a severely fragmented skull, having been shot one or more times. He was due to be executed in January of 2020, however, that was delayed due to appeals based on the method of death and whether or not it caused unnecessary pain and suffering. Ten-year-old Kandi and 6-year-old Amber were still in their swimsuits on the hot summer day when they were shot execution-style in the back of the head. In Lewis Lees case, his victims family had requested his sentencebe reduced to life in prison; in Purkeys, his lawyers asserted that dementia and schizophrenia meant he was not competent to be executed. [23], Honken and Johnson were tried separately. I was totally amazed, she said. The two ended their relationship shortly after Nicholson's arrest. ga('ads.send', { Lawyers for Honken requested in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a stay of execution. The prosecution said he had every reason to kill the victims and presented 65 witnesses against him. [6][10] Honken's defense presented testimony from his family, and pointed to his age and lack of prior violent convictions as mitigating factors. The governments approach still stung months later: We feel that they go out of their way to not accommodate us.. Mueller uses a wheelchair, which he said can complicate the logistics of plane travel, so he decided to drive to Indiana from his home in Arkansas. Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin is 3rd federal inmate 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. Dustin was a chemistry wizard during his community college days in the early 90's. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Heaven-Haven,". Dustin Lee Honken: US government executes 3rd federal inmate this - CNN He suspected that Honken had killed Nicholson and was afraid of being wrongfully accused of murder. Here's why it probably isn't coming back. 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. However, Cobeen became a police informant. It amounted to a small fraction of the more than $107,000 the agency spent on hotels for the witnesses and staff who flocked to western Indiana last summer for the federal governments first executions in nearly two decades. Honken's parents divorced when he was nine. Can we count on your support today? Days before each cluster of executions last summer, the Bureau of Prisons shipped in dozens of extra staff for training in preparation for the event, as it is elliptically referred to in records. As the investigation into Honken continued, he killed another drug dealer working with him, Terry DeGeus, beating him with a bat and shooting him. Never think about it. Honken had earlier informed the judge in his drug case that he would plead guilty at the end of July. The elderly couple noticed a few things missing but nothing significant, almost like Lori had packed hurriedly. 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 . He is scheduled to be executed on Friday, July 17. A closer look Dustin Honken : r/Jodi_Huisentruit_Case - Reddit On October 14, 2004, Honken was convicted of all 17 counts against him, including five counts of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. eventAction: 'view' He added: "There was no reason for the government to kill him, in haste or at all. "Finally justice is being done. Although details of his last meal were not revealed, Honken, in his last words, recited a poem by an English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ called Heaven-Heaven. In 2005, Tokars stopped an attempted escape by Honken, in which he plotted to escape with the help of white supremacists and murder witnesses. On November 5, 1993, he dropped off his daughter, Ashley DeGeus-Henken, then 10, at his mothers home and told her he would come to pick the child up shortly afterward. The man they killed today could have spent the rest of his days helping others and further redeeming himself., In a statement, Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said just punishment has been carried out.. Dustin Honken, an Iowa meth kingpin who kidnapped and killed five people to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking in . The Justice Department has executed Dustin Lee Honken in Terre Haute, Ind., the third federal inmate put to death by the government this week. Witnesses: Honken, girlfriend strangled little girls to keep them quiet The government announced they would seek death sentences for both Honken and Johnson. The victims' family is expected to provide a written statement to the public at some point soon. hitType: 'event', Federal court appeals later described their relationship while dismissing claims that there was substantial mitigation in his upbringing: The movant's mother provided a stable, nurturing and loving environment, never abandoned him, did not fail to provide any sort of safe space or comfort to him, never neglected him, never failed to calm him or tell him that things were going to be okay, acted as a loving caretaker and facilitated the movant's attachment to her by making herself available to him. Honken had a notably healthy relationship with his mother, who he described as perfect. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { In addition, they discovered a note addressed to the neighbor, stating, Phyllis, we had to leave on short notice. }); He worked for Holland Construction in Forest City and later drove a semi for Schmidt Trucking of Britt. He had a rare right-left brain combination that made him attractive enough to land a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in the early 1990s. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. The 52-year-old died by lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he's been on death row since 2005. "Honken has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on his claim that the 2019 Protocol is arbitrary and capricious based on its failure to consider the risk of flash pulmonary edema," the court of appeals wrote, citing language used in similar decisions. Later, when the authorities learned Dustin had changed his plea and Greg was missing, they wanted Terry to become an informant. Over the years he grew incredibly close to his family, becoming a true father, son, brother and friend. Death-row inmate Dustin Lee Honken, who killed a family of four, including two children and another person, was executed on Friday, July 17, at 4 pm local time, marking the government's third federal execution in a month after 17 years. He said Honken was "a young man infatuated with drug manufacturing, basically a nerd.[7]. [12], In the early 1990s, Honken started selling marijuana and cocaine. We believe that he was ready to take violent actions again. 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. More: Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. His time of death was marked at 3:36 p.m.Central Daylight Time. This timehis co-conspirator, Cutkomp,turned states witness, collecting Honkens musings about destroying evidence, buying a gun and eliminating investigators and others who he thought would testify against him. Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm, FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2005, file photo, Dustin Lee Honken is led by US Marshals into the Federal Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, prior to his sentencing. The EKG would probably be to tell when hes died. Email Iowa drug kingpin who killed 5 set for execution Friday - NBC News Honken was tried first, with his trial starting in October 2004. He'd apologized, saying "I wasn't expecting things to go this way. Honken reported in his pre-sentence investigation that his father struck him numerous times during his childhood, although he denied that his father was physically abusive and maintained that the emotional turmoil in his early life mostly stemmed from his father's alcoholism. 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. During this time, he plotted to murder Cobeen, police officers, and chemists, and to destroy evidence against him. Lori Ann Milbrath Duncan was born to Marge Milbrath in Mason City in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, on November 22, 1961. 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. I'm sorry, but that ain't no choice. [7], In March 1993, Honken and Cutkomp were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges. When Cutkomp expressed concern over the murders, Honken said Cobeen forced his hand: "They made me choose between my family and them. While in prison, Angela Johnson confessed to the murders to another prisoner who became an informant, supplying all the details and a hand-drawn map of the bodies location all handed over to the authorities. However this is a steptoward healing of broken hearts and shattered lives.". Nearly three decades after Dustin Honkens crime spree gripped Iowa, the small-town boy turned murderous meth kingpin was executed Friday at the Federal Correctional Complex. gads_event = event; But he soon startedselling marijuana and cocaine anddecided to become both a drug manufacturer and a dealer with his knowledge of chemistry. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. 'Stop it!' He didnt look toward witnesses behind a glass barrier, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling. No matter what, you can always turn to The Marshall Project as a source of trustworthy journalism about the criminal justice system. The executions were scheduled after the Department of Justice announced last year that it would carry out capital punishments again after a 17-year hiatus, sayingthat defendants convicted of the most heinous crimes should be subject to a sentence of death.. DeGeus body was found a few miles from the wooded area. pg.acq.push(function() { Lee remained strapped on a gurney for four hours after midnight as the Trump administration sought to lift a court-ordered stay on his death sentence. After officials began administering the lethal injection, Honken began blinking his eyes, his fingers twitching and his lips quivering. [7], Over the next few weeks, Nicholson became extremely paranoid. The inmate known for his verbosity at hearings and for a rambling statement declaring his innocence at sentencing spoke only briefly, neither addressing victims family members nor saying he was sorry. He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. However, under federal law, he was bound to the jury's verdict. Jim once convinced his son to steal and copy a key to a bank. [2] Honken and Johnson were in a relationship at the time of the murders, and Johnson, who had a child from a previous marriage, was pregnant by Honken. The victims were related to a drug trial against Honken. Without any witnesses, the government was forced to drop its case against Honken. ", "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. During the sentencing phase, the prosecution said Honken, who they described as an "evil mastermind", deserved to die since he had committed mass murder, killed children, killed a second time months after committing the four initial murders, showed no remorse, and had continued to try to escape prison and commit even more murders while in maximum security prisons.
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dustin honken last meal