Read More:Angela Johnson: Where is Dustin Lee Honkens Girlfriend Now? 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. 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. While awaiting trial, Honken was released on bond. [7], On July 30, 1993, Honken gave his attorney the recording and said he was changing his plea. Families for two of Honken's victims provided public statements, differing in tone and length, but each rife with emotion. The two ended their relationship shortly after Nicholson's arrest. His biological father, Jim Honken, allegedly beat him, was an alcoholic, and served time in federal prison after committing multiple bank robberies. She was utterly devoted to her two daughters Kandace D. Duncan and Amber J. Duncan her family and hometown. Honken was considered so dangerous that the judge took the rare step of impaneling an anonymous jury. While awaiting trial, she met Robert Gene McNeese, a career criminal and informant who was serving a life sentence. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); Born into a life of uncertainty, Honken grew up in Britt, a small town west of Mason City in north central Iowa. In 2005, Tokars stopped an attempted escape by Honken, in which he plotted to escape with the help of white supremacists and murder witnesses. After inadvertently learning that Nicholson had turned states witness, Honken and Johnson set out to find him and force him to recant his statements. When Scott Mueller drove to Indiana in July to see Daniel Lewis Lee die, he stayed at a Holiday Inn. In jail, Johnson made friends with Robert Bobby Gene McNeese, a career criminal doing a life sentence who was a prolific snitch. 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. However this is a steptoward healing of broken hearts and shattered lives.". This is an intelligent young man." 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. His last words were, "Holy Mary, mother of God . These are the stories that you need to know about capital punishment's past, as well as its uncertain future. He also pointed to Honken's youth, saying, "The court needs to consider his age. As the trio was executed, they expressed their views for the final time, with one even maintaining his innocence till his last breath. }) Outside the facility, protesters held press conferences, waved signs and live-tweeted every court development. Never think about it. Honken, 52, was sentenced to die in October 2005 after being convicted of numerous offenses, including five counts of murder among them two small children during the course of a continuing criminal enterprise. The victims' family is expected to provide a written statement to the public at some point soon. The EKG would probably be to tell when hes died. Soon, he would meet Angela Johnson, a woman who shared his ruthless worldview. 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. However, what he ultimately ate may remain a mystery. Honken beat, shot, and buried DeGeus. The elderly couple noticed a few things missing but nothing significant, almost like Lori had packed hurriedly. Over the years he grew incredibly close to his family, becoming a true father, son, brother and friend. 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. Upon learning that Nicholson had disappeared, the government turned to Honken's former dealer, DeGeus. Dustin Honken, 52, would become the first defendant in an Iowa case to be put to death since 1963 if he is executed as scheduled on Friday. [] Never dream about it. He added: "There was no reason for the government to kill him, in haste or at all. Law enforcement had enough evidence to believe Johnson had something to do with the murders, though Honken remained their suspected triggerman. Theyre willing to go to extraordinary lengths in terms of spending our money and then hiding the footprints of it.. 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. When Cutkomp expressed concern over the murders, Honken said Cobeen forced his hand: "They made me choose between my family and them. pg.acq.push(function() { 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. There was no reason for the government to kill him, in haste or at all, Nolan said. 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. She told them about Honken's and Johnson's search for Nicholson and that she had seen the pistol used in the 1993 murders in Johnson's closet before it was destroyed. Johnson took Duncan's daughters, 10-year-old Kandace Duncan and 6-year-old Amber Duncan, telling them that they were going on a surprise trip. hitType: 'event', Honken had recently learned Nicholson, a former drug-dealing associate, was cooperating with investigators and would likely testify against Honken at trial. }); 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. 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. 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. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { Lawyers for Honken requested in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a stay of execution. The Bureau of Prisons refused to comment on the payment records or to answer questions about the operations outlined in the documents. Bumming around before starting at North Iowa, Honken fell into selling marijuana and cocaine, quickly building a list of customers who paid thousands for their fix. }); Brown said that in order to visit her son and witness his execution, she took out a loan. [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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. eventAction: 'click_adunit' He'd apologized, saying "I wasn't expecting things to go this way. At the time of his death, Honken had served more than 22 years in an Indiana prison. In 2004, Dustin Lee Honken was . eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Dustin Lee Honken was born in Britt, Iowa, on March 22, 1968, and suffered from an abusive childhood. [3] His father, Jim Honken, was an alcoholic schemer who was allegedly neglectful. It was announced on Thursday that Iowa drug kingpin Dustin Lee Honken, who killed five people in the early 90s, has been scheduled to be executed 15 years after receiving his [] This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 10:41. In July 2000, Johnson was charged with five counts of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. Although Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1965, the crime was a federal case since it involved a continuing criminal enterprise. 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. Susan Negersmith was a 20 year-old woman from Carmel, New York. While Honken's execution is the last one in this weeklong spree, Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. Johnson's defense team pointed to her dysfunctional upbringing and argued that she did not know Honken was going to kill the victims. 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. }) 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. 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. We have real reasons to question whether or not this number now is complete either, Stubbs said. However, the plot was discovered and stopped by guards. On another occasion, Honken tried to drown Alyssa in a hotel pool. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ Johnson was originally sentenced to death for her part in the crime but had her sentence reduced to life in prison. Jim committed two bank robberies before getting caught and sent to federal prison. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ Honken had a healthy relationship with his stepfather.[6]. Marges other grandchild, Amber, 6, was inside the house. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, including Wesley Purkey. [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. 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. [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,a community college drop-out who created his meth empire in the early 1990s,was the third federal prisoner executed this week. Never nothing. Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped and raped a 10-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28. The Justice Department has executed Dustin Lee Honken in Terre Haute, Ind., the third federal inmate put to death by the government this week. [29], In June 2005, a federal jury condemned Johnson to death on four counts. [7] Johnson told Honken that DeGeus was personally using too much meth which was supposed to be sold, and that they should deal with each other instead. pg.acq.push(function() { 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. Dustin Honken, convicted of killing five people, will be executed July 17, 2020. 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. [] Thought I'd have nightmares. On July 17, 2020, Honken was executed by lethal injection. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), "It sickens me to know what happened, she said, even more so not to tell anyone.. His execution is fast approaching and he is scheduled to die on July 17th at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965, but Honken was convicted in federal court becausehe killed government witnesses, interfering with a federal case. In any case, they failed. [28], In 2005, Johnson was found guilty of five counts of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. When the time of death was announced, Honken, 52, became the first Iowan in more than 50 years to be put to death in an Iowa case. Twitter While preparing for his trial, Honken discovered through legal documents that Nicholson had turned witness. 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.". Using this evidence, and testimony from a collection of prisoners Honken told in not-so-subtle terms that he killed a handful of people in 1993, prosecutors brought murder charges against the former underworld honcho. ga('ads.send', { Other van rentals for shuttling around staff and witnesses totaled at least $4,500 over the five executions, while a bus rental cost $6,330. Honken has rarely spoken publicly since his sentencing, but until Friday's statement from his lawyer maintainedhis innocence. Termed Iowas Walter White due to the startling similarities with the popular TV character, he was arrested when his recruits and partner double-crossed him. Keri Blakinger ga('ads.send', { Dustin Honken, a convicted murderer of 5 people, sits on death row. Kandi and Amber each had a single bullet wound in the back of their heads. There are some small expenses that appear to be absent, such as last meals for three of the prisoners. Des Moines Register From. Their attraction was mutual, and she would shortly dump her current boyfriend, Honkens dealer,DeGeus, for the boss. Jim once convinced his son to steal and copy a key to a bank. [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. Meth didnt enter the picture until 1991, after he had completed a year of community college chemistry, earning an A- average. 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. eventAction: 'load' They sentenced him to death specifically for the brutality and senselessness of the childrens killings. I realize I am here because of my own actions. Dustin earned a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in 1991 and had initially planned to become a pharmaceutical lawyer. There was no reason for the government to kill him, in haste or at all.". (Cliff Jette/The Gazette via AP, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Dustin was a chemistry wizard during his community college days in the early 90's. More: Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. 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. The SD memory cards to record videos of their activities cost $58.78. Here's why it probably isn't coming back. He was at peace. Dustin Honken, 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.. I'm sorry, but that ain't no choice. On October 27, 2004, jurors recommended life sentences for Honken for killing the adult victims and death sentences for killing the children. 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. In 2004, Dustin Lee Honken was convicted on federal charges in execution-style slayings of five people in Iowa. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., denied a stay request Thursday as well. Using a ruse to gain entry, Johnson and Honken did make a video of Nicholson denying his previous police statements, but then bound and gagged the adults, forced the children to pack bags and walked them at gunpoint to their car. His time of death was marked at 3:36 p.m.Central Daylight Time. [7], Honken and Johnson forced the family into a car at gunpoint and drove to a wooden area outside of the city. Twitter "[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". His lawyers pointed to the lack of physical evidence linking him to the murders. However, he and Tim were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges in March 1993. He had worn a wire, recorded him making drug deals, and handed the recordings to the authorities in exchange for a lenient prison term. [7] Another inmate said Honken killed "rats" and children "raised by rats". But authoritiesneeded five things before they could begin to prove their case: the bodies. McNeese gave the notes and map to the authorities, and the victims' bodies were recovered shortly after. I was totally amazed, she said. The federal death penalty against Dustin Lee Honken, now 51, is one of four executions put on hold late Wednesday by a judge who found that a proposal from U.S. Attorney General William Barr to . He worked for Holland Construction in Forest City and later drove a semi for Schmidt Trucking of Britt. After officials began administering the lethal injection, Honken began blinking his eyes, his fingers twitching and his lips quivering. During that first execution and those that followed, the prisoners ate sack lunches and box meals after the mess hall closed for the lockdown. According to his attorneys, he recited a poem by a Jesuit priest in his final statement. ", "The reason for us being present today was not to watch a man die. The spending records from July and August offer glimpses of not only the cost but the logistics of how the government puts prisoners to death. Honken was involved in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, and one of his dealers was set to testify against him, so Honken and Johnson murdered him . Referring to the 1993 disappearances, Bennett said that while the government had made a compelling case for Honken likely being responsible, his view was that if the government believed Honken was a murderer, they should charge him with murder. 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. He killed five people, including two young girls, in 1993. Department of Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec said ending Honken's life was the culmination of "just punishment" being carried out. Johnson bought a pistol on July 7, 1993. Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. He wore a wire to a meeting and recorded Honken making a future $3,000 deal. [7], During Honken's capital murder trial, his mitigation expert, Lisa Rickert, wrote to his lawyers that not only had she struggled to find any possible mitigation, what she discovered only further cast Honken in a negative light. While studying legal documents, Dustin learned Greg had become an informant after being caught with almost 150 grams of pure meth inside his apartment. Terry Scott DeGeus was born to Edward and JoAnn DeGeus in Charles City in Floyd County, Iowa, on November 19, 1960. He faced a minimum of 10 years in prison. 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. During separate trials in 2004 and 2005, Dustin Honken and Angela Johnson were each convicted of the murders and both were given the death penalty. Their primary target that day was Lori Duncans then-boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived at the home and was also killed. Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Heaven-Haven,". [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. [7] He and Johnson passed notes through the food slot in his door about their lives in jail and their childhoods. Whoopi Goldberg interrupts 'The View' live segment, raises her voice and hits co-host, Demi Moore has not left Bruce Willis's side and is doing everything to make his 'last moments happy', 'Liza took a final breath and sighed': Liza Burke, 21, dies 6 weeks after stage 4 cancer diagnosis, Baywatch star Jeremy Jacksons ex-wife Loni Willison spotted looking for food in LA waste, 'Go for a size bigger': Honey Boo Boo slammed for flaunting 'tight' prom dress with boyfriend Dralin Carswell. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ A Catholic priest, Honkens spiritual adviser, stood near him inside the death chamber. 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. }); The two started a romantic relationship and Johnson soon became pregnant with Honken's child. [8], For his cooperation, Cutkomp was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. 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. 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.
dustin honken last meal
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