Everything You Need To Know About Utah’s History Of Execution Before Aug. 8

Utah has a long history with executions and prisoners on death row spanning back from the 1977 when the death penalty was reinstated.  

The state also holds the history of having the first person to be executed in the nation when the Supreme Court allowed the practice to begin again. The man’s name was Gary Gilmore.  

For some reason, Utah has a lot of “history making” associated with the death penalty according to ABC4. The first execution in the U.S. in 1977 and the first and only state to use a firing squad for the deed.  

The last execution was held in 2010 so it’s been quite a while since the state has enacted the death penalty. However, earlier this summer a Taberon Honie’s execution was scheduled for August 8 this year. There is a whole process that goes into the execution including last meals, witnesses and method of execution.  

Honie will die by lethal injection which the state has secured the drug for.  

Another interesting fact about Utah’s execution history is that it has never executed a woman though there have been some on death row. It’s unclear why no woman has been executed but so far it hasn’t happened.  

Currently there are seven people on Utah’s death row including Honie whose crimes included murder and sexual assault. His execution will be the first in over 10 years.  

There are thousands of inmates on death row in the U.S., but Utah has relatively few which I think is a good thing.