ga('ads.send', { [8], On November 5, 1993, DeGeus also disappeared. On July 17, 2020, Honken was executed by lethal injection. The two made hundreds of thousands of dollars from several drug runs. Honken had a healthy relationship with his stepfather.[6]. The good-hearted Lori allowed a new friend, Greg Nicholson, to move into her home, knowing he had dealt drugs before but believing he was in rehab and willing to give him a chance in 1993. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal. [40] Circuit Judge David S. Tatel dissented, arguing the statute explicitly requires the federal government to follow state execution protocols. A coroner pronounced him dead by lethal injection at 4:36 p.m. Kandi and Amber each had a single bullet wound in the back of their heads. [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. During that first execution and those that followed, the prisoners ate sack lunches and box meals after the mess hall closed for the lockdown. [12], In the early 1990s, Honken started selling marijuana and cocaine. He compared the feeling of killing someone to a football game, saying, "Once you go a certain distance, there ain't no turning back. Some were shut in their cells and others were forced to spend the night in the gym, where they couldnt see the witnesses or the condemned man entering the death chamber. Congressional Democrats have unveiled legislation this year to abolish the federal death penalty, a goal President-elect Joe Biden says he supports. There are some small expenses that appear to be absent, such as last meals for three of the prisoners. However, he declined to rule on whether Honken likely had a role in the 1993 disappearances. There was no reason for the government to kill him, in haste or at all, Nolan said. During this time, he plotted to murder Cobeen, police officers, and chemists, and to destroy evidence against him. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Honken conspired with another inmate to escape from jail by breaking a hole in the wall of his cell and having Johnson deliver a hacksaw and a rope. 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 was very upset with the way Danny died, said Donoghue, who visited Honken regularly over the past decade. Johnson admitted that she was involved in Honken's crimes, but blamed him for the murders and said he had manipulated her. They found no signs of a struggle inside no blood or furniture in disarray except for an unfinished dinner on the kitchen table. [25][26], Ron McIntosh said Honken told him he killed the children since they "wouldn't be quiet, or wouldn't shut up." [29], In June 2005, a federal jury condemned Johnson to death on four counts. 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. He also pointed to Honken's youth, saying, "The court needs to consider his age. Johnson and Honken drove the four to a wooded area north of Mason City where Honken first took Duncan and Nicholson to an already dug grave and shot them execution-style. 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. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but Honken was convicted in federal court becausehe killed government witnesses, interfering with a federal case. Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. 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 following a 17 . In 2005, Tokars stopped an attempted escape by Honken, in which he plotted to escape with the help of white supremacists and murder witnesses. Among them were many of the inmates to whom Honken had confessed, including Fred Tokars. During her sentencing hearing, Johnson continued to blame Honken, but said "I regret I wasn't strong enough. ", "The reason for us being present today was not to watch a man die. Never think about it. 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. Johnson bought a pistol on July 7, 1993. 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," he said. "They are people who have no future," referring to the inmates. [6][10] Honken's defense presented testimony from his family, and pointed to his age and lack of prior violent convictions as mitigating factors. [7], Honken said he planned to plead guilty, and a hearing was scheduled for July 30, 1993. Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Heaven-Haven,". Early Friday morning, a federal appeals court denied Honken's last-ditch request to block the execution. Other security measures included fitting Honken with a stun belt under his clothes to prevent him from trying to escape. Attorney General William Barr relaunched executions this week for the first time since 2003. However, he told Johnson that she would need to say everything she knew. eventAction: 'click_adunit' Iowa-licensed. I am so blessed that people had compassion to do that, she said. Lets find out. There was the electrocardiogram machine ($1,459) and EKG tape ($81.24), a suture kit ($470.88), a heating pad ($18.46), assorted medical supplies ($374.67) and an ultrasound rental ($2,000), likely to help find a vein if the usual arm veins proved difficult. He had worn a wire, recorded him making drug deals, and handed the recordings to the authorities in exchange for a lenient prison term. Theyre willing to go to extraordinary lengths in terms of spending our money and then hiding the footprints of it.. The Bureau of Prisons refused to comment on the payment records or to answer questions about the operations outlined in the documents. While awaiting trial, Honken was released on bond. On October 27, 2004, jurors recommended life sentences for Honken for killing the adult victims and death sentences for killing the children. Their primary target that day was Lori Duncans then-boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived at the home and was also killed. An execution date of January 15, 2020, was set for Honken. Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty. hide caption. Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, at 8:19 a.m. local time. }); Starting just minutes after its scheduled time, Honken recited Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Heaven-Haven," before saying a Hail Mary, though he tagged on an additional line: "Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for me.". [7], On July 30, 1993, Honken gave his attorney the recording and said he was changing his plea. Upon hearing the sentence, Honken seemed visibly disappointed. "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. However, Cobeen became a police informant. 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. 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 recognized and repented for the crimes he had committed, and spent his time in prison atoning for them," Nolan said in a statement. hitType: 'event', hitType: 'event', He didnt look toward witnesses behind a glass barrier, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling. [13], Honken, seeking to expand his drug dealing business, studied chemistry textbooks at the library, read science journals, kept extremely thorough records, made plans to expand his business to the Internet, and considered writing his own book about how to make and sell meth in the United States. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette via AP, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Angela lured him under the pretense of building their broken relationship, and the drug kingpin and her girlfriend fatally shot him dead too. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (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. "[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". The crime Honken was executed for started as a missing-persons case tangentially connected to a federal drug trafficking charge. His father, Jim, a drunken schemer, held powerful sway over his two sons, Jeff and Dustin, Honkens sister, AlyssaNelson, said during her brothers murder trial. [39] Circuit Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao wrote concurring opinions concluding that Honken may be executed, but for different reasons. }); I was totally amazed, she said. 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. 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. Johnson lured DeGeus to a country club under the guise of wanting to rekindle their relationship, then drove to an abandoned house where Honken was waiting. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. },false) [8], Cutkomp decided to become an informant. On July 24, Dustin and Angela broke into Loris home, forced Greg to record a statement claiming Dustin was innocent, and abducted him and the Duncan family at gunpoint. 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. Her lawyer said she was extremely relieved and grateful upon hearing of the decision. Honkens execution was the last one in this weeklong spree. Dustin Honken, Iowa born and bred, inmate #06951-029, was executed in July at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. But the authorities could not find the bodies to prove they had been murdered. Saying he knew a lifer who mighttake the rap for her and Honken, McNeese convinced her to tell him details about the crime only a participant would know and to draw him maps to the bodies. I realize I am here because of my own actions. They recruited two drug dealers Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson to sell their meth in northeast Iowa. let gads_event; "[17][18], In 1999, the prosecution appealed the sentencing deduction due to the severity of Honken's attempt to obstruct the investigation against him. She is the organization's first formerly incarcerated reporter. At the time of his death, Honken had served more than 22 years in an Indiana prison. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. eventAction: 'load' In any case, they failed. Meth didnt enter the picture until 1991, after he had completed a year of community college chemistry, earning an A- average. Dustin Honken is a convicted murderer - currently on death row in Illionois prison. His execution is fast approaching and he is scheduled to die on July 17th at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Maurice Chammah A statement from relatives of Lori, Amber and Kandace Duncan the 31-year-old mother and her 6- and 10-year-old daughters whomHonken also killed lamented that their lives were "taken" while Honken's continued for 27 more years. Lawyers for Honken requested in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a stay of execution. 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. Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. 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. Investigators were sure Honken was involved with the earlier missing people;the coincidences were too great, but they were no closer to finding the bodies. Follow her on Twitter @courtneycare. I deeply regret the pain I caused to my daughter, who I love so very much. She could not breathe and swallowed water. ET Friday. The government announced they would seek death sentences for both Honken and Johnson. He plotted to murder Cutkomp and gave a fellow inmate directions to Cutkomp's house. Born into a life of uncertainty, Honken grew up in Britt, a small town west of Mason City in north central Iowa. Circuit vacated District Judge Chutkan's injunction in a per curiam decision. Since many of the other witnesses didnt live close enough to drive, they flew in, and the bureau spent more than $4,310 on plane tickets for July and August. [34], Honken exhausted his appeals in 2014, but at the time, the U.S. federal government had a de facto moratorium on capital punishment. Honken beat, shot, and buried DeGeus. His final words were a reciting of the poem Heaven-Heaven by Gerard Manley Hopkins: "I have desired to go, where springs not fail, to fields where flies no sharp and sided hail, and a few lilies blow. Even if I'm in prison for [] 15 years, whatever. 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. Never. 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. 'Stop it!' 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. 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. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, including Wesley Purkey. However, under federal law, he was bound to the jury's verdict. [19], In 2000, Johnson's friend, Christi Gaubatz, decided to talk to the police. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Honken was considered so dangerous that the judge took the rare step of impaneling an anonymous jury. It was to show love, supportand respect to my daughter's father, Terry," read the short letter, "that weloved him until the end and still do.". Nearly three decades after Honken coldly ended the lives of five people all in an effort to protect himself and his criminal enterprise, he has finally faced justice, Kupec said. Dustin Honken, convicted of killing five people, will be executed July 17, 2020. Its unclear what that training involved, but records show it cost thousands of dollars. [22] As a reward for his testimony, a judge reduced McNeese's sentence, and he was released from prison on November 14, 2017. However, this is a step toward healing of broken hearts and shattered lives.. According to court documents, Angela bought a gun on July 7, 1993, and she and Dustin began hunting Greg down, with him divorcing his ex-wife and moving in with Lori and her children. Their mother never got to see them having their first dance, first date or first walk down the aisle at their wedding., We will continue to live with their loss, it said. His last words were, "Holy Mary, mother of God . He reportedly did not understand that there wouldnt be any later, according to Kansascity.com. The government paid for snacks, drinks and pizza. Because of legal delays, they ended up spending more than 12 hours there. 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. Read More:Angela Johnson: Where is Dustin Lee Honkens Girlfriend Now? 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. [27], During cross-examination, a defense attorney questioned why someone like Honken would confide in "a couple of crackheads who steal hogs" for a living. Honken, who had the look of a classic 1980s nerd and the smarts to back up the appearance, was talented in math and science, but was an eloquent writer, too. [23], Honken and Johnson were tried separately. [3] The two then bound and gagged Nicholson and his new girlfriend, 37-year-old Lori Ann Duncan. We are one of the worlds fastest growing More: Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. [6], Honken, who was proficient in math, science, and writing, earned a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in 1991. "[17][18], U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett imposed sentencing enhancements on Honken for attempting to obstruct justice and having a major role in the conspiracy, and granted a deduction for Honken accepting responsibility. Ive made a lot of mistakes in my life, but Im not a murderer. As part of an agreement, she agreed to drop all of her appeals. From meth to murder: How a small-town Iowa boy became the state's first death row inmate in 50 years, Timeline of events in the infamous 1993 Iowa murders, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Marges other grandchild, Amber, 6, was inside the house. I wish there was some way to go back and start over, but obviously there isn't. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but federal. After finishing a year of community college chemistry classes with an A-minus, Honken, decided to become both a drug manufacturer and a dealer using what he had learned. Youre killing an innocent man, He had said. "Nearly three decades after Honken coldly ended the lives of five people, including two young girls, all in an effort to protect himself and his criminal enterprise, he has finally faced justice," Kupec said in a statement. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but federal prosecutors sought to execute Honken for killing government informants and children. He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. The victims were related to a drug trial against Honken. In 1984, Honken plotted a bank robbery in which the person he would convince to commit the robbery for him would then be killed and thrown into a pond. In 1963, Victor Feguer, who kidnapped and killed a Dubuque doctor, was executed by hanging at the Iowa State Penitentiary. Honken had a notably healthy relationship with his mother, who he described as perfect. While in jail, Honken confessed to fellow inmates that he'd killed witnesses from an earlier case. Dustin Lee Honken was born in Britt, Iowa, on March 22, 1968, and suffered from an abusive childhood. Johnson discussed the murders in detail, which McNeese secretly recorded. eventAction: 'view' The prosecution said he had every reason to kill the victims and presented 65 witnesses against him. She told the jury how her 31-year-old daughter waved and smiled at her, and she also saw one of her granddaughters, 10-year-old Kandace, AKA Kandi, clad in her prized sundress. 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. Johnson, Honkens girlfriend, was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to death. [7], Over the next few weeks, Nicholson became extremely paranoid. Consequently, Honken's offense level under the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines was set at 38, which called for a sentence of 235 to 293 months in prison. He suspected that Honken had killed Nicholson and was afraid of being wrongfully accused of murder. But what Honken didnt know in early 1993 was that Nicholson had decided to cooperate with federal investigators, wearing a wire toa meet and recordingHonken makinga $3,000 deal for a future meth pickup. 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. On one of his drug runs, Honken met Angela Johnson, who was then dating DeGeus. 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. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. hitType: 'event', On another occasion, Honken tried to drown Alyssa in a hotel pool. Dustin Lee Honken was born in Britt, Iowa, on March 22, 1968, and suffered from an abusive childhood. window.googletag.cmd.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. "[14], Honken was recorded calling Cobeen a "rat" and saying he would kill him no matter what. His time of death was marked at 3:36 p.m.Central Daylight Time. 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. He also decided to switch to meth. Terry also drove a truck for Bud Ranken and Bud Schrotter. Johnson's defense team pointed to her dysfunctional upbringing and argued that she did not know Honken was going to kill the victims. }); Soon, he would meet Angela Johnson, a woman who shared his ruthless worldview. [] Never dream about it. 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. 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.
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