New report highlights the absence of mercy when clemency is considered in capital cases

Last Friday, officials in Utah denied clemency to Taberon Honie, who is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 8 for the stabbing death of his girlfriend’s mother in 1998. As the Associated Press reported, the decision “was announced in a one-paragraph notice from Scott Stephenson, chair of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. 'After carefully reviewing all submitted information and considering all arguments from the parties, the board does not find sufficient cause to commute Mr. Honie’s death sentence.’”