He graduated from West Hancock High School in 1980 a record holder in pole vaulting who enjoyed being a junior high wrestling team member. Dustin Honken is a convicted murderer - currently on death row in Illionois prison. Never. When the time of death was. Honken had recently learned Nicholson, a former drug-dealing associate, was cooperating with investigators and would likely testify against Honken at trial. }); pg.acq.push(function() { A second bank robbery would land himin prison, where he would regale his frequently visiting sons with tales of his criminal exploits. ga('ads.send', { Their primary target that day was Lori Duncans then-boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived at the home and was also killed. He once held a pillow over Alyssa's face after she told one of his girlfriends that he had other girlfriends. [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. Johnson gave him written notes and a map revealing the locations of the victim's bodies. 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. 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 was involved in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, and one of his dealers was set to testify against him, so Honken and Johnson murdered him along with his girlfriend and her two young daughters. A judge later reduced her sentence to life behind bars. Johnson, Honkens girlfriend, was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to death. [] Thought I'd have nightmares. Like, you need that? Meth didnt enter the picture until 1991, after he had completed a year of community college chemistry, earning an A- average. At his sentencing in 2005, Honken denied killing anybody, but Donoghue said she never heard him say he was innocent. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Even if I'm in prison for [] 15 years, whatever. Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice, A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. 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. Born into a life of uncertainty, Honken grew up in Britt, a small town west of Mason City in north central Iowa. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., denied a stay request Thursday as well. He then did the same to the children. A coroner pronounced him dead by lethal injection at 4:36 p.m. Acting on a tip that Johnson might be skipping town, authorities indicted her with aiding and abetting the murders of Nicholson, Duncan, Kandi, Amber and her ex-boyfriend DeGeus. [7], Honken and Johnson forced the family into a car at gunpoint and drove to a wooden area outside of the city. Dustin Honken, 52, would become the first Iowa defendant to be put to death since 1963 if he is executed as scheduled on Friday. Dustin Honken, Iowa born and bred, inmate #06951-029, was executed in July at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of Email 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. [9], Johnson was born in Forest City, Iowa. The governments approach still stung months later: We feel that they go out of their way to not accommodate us.. },false) He has scheduled another execution in late August. A prison official in Terre Haute, Indiana, reportedly told the New York Post: "We will not be providing details of Mr. Lees last meal.". The night before his disappearance, he dropped his 10-year-old daughter off at his mother's house and said he was going to meet Johnson. Iowa outlawed the death penalty 55 years ago. 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. . [33] Johnson is currently serving her sentence at FCI Waseca. [23], Honken and Johnson were tried separately. Follow her on Twitter @courtneycare. 0. "[19] Without the deduction, Honken faced 27 to 33.75 years in prison. 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. 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. Lawyers for Honken requested in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a stay of execution. But the authorities could not find the bodies to prove they had been murdered. 'Stop it!' On October 27, 2004, jurors recommended life sentences for Honken for killing the adult victims and death sentences for killing the children. Marge and her husband drove by later and let themselves in after feeling convinced something was wrong. Marges other grandchild, Amber, 6, was inside the house. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. 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.. let gads_event; 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. Early Friday morning, a federal appeals court denied Honken's last-ditch request to block the execution. As the trio was executed, they expressed their views for the final time, with one even maintaining his innocence till his last breath. The Dustin Honken they wanted to kill is long gone. But authoritiesneeded five things before they could begin to prove their case: the bodies. While studying legal documents, Dustin learned Greg had become an informant after being caught with almost 150 grams of pure meth inside his apartment. Although Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1965, the crime was a federal case since it involved a continuing criminal enterprise. However, this is a step toward healing of broken hearts and shattered lives.. },false) Love, Lori.. A statement from the Department of Justice echoed the Duncans' sentiment that due process had been seen through. eventAction: 'render' After all appeals and injunctions were dismissed by various courts over the years, the 52-year-old was executed by lethal injection in the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute on July 17, 2020. 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. The shackles were fitted with a chain so Honken could move normally without the shackles making noise. Honken's lawyer, Alfredo Parrish, requesting a sentence of 10 to 15 years, attacked the government's handling of the evidence in the case. However, what he ultimately ate may remain a mystery. The government announced they would seek death sentences for both Honken and Johnson. She said goodbye to her friends in the evening. }); (The records list only $33.11 for Dustin Lee Honkens dinner from Pizza Hut, and $0 spent when Keith Dwayne Nelson refused a meal.) 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. In 1990, Honken raped and threatened his girlfriend. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. 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. ga('ads.send', { [8], In the fall of 1995, Honken recruited a man named Dan Cobeen to help him manufacture meth. In 1986, Honken schemed to kill one of his accomplices after stealing a car. [12], In the early 1990s, Honken started selling marijuana and cocaine. [7] Cutkomp recorded Honken talking about his plans to kill witnesses and implicitly referenced killing witnesses in 1993. Twitter [7], On July 30, 1993, Honken gave his attorney the recording and said he was changing his plea. Dustin switched to methamphetamine, enlisting the help of his best friend, Tim Cutkomp, and moved to Arizona to set up his drug empire. Terry also drove a truck for Bud Ranken and Bud Schrotter. An appellate court agreed, adding that "one can easily conclude from witnesses' testimony that appellee caused the disappearance of one or more persons, including prospective prosecution witnesses, in 1993. [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. 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. The death row convict had said that his first, second and final meal request should speak for itself," according to WTHI. I have seen people get murdered here and being in a place like this makes the sentence I have now almost like a death sentence. hitType: 'event', Not only that, the police found Terry DeGeus body in a field a few miles from the crime scene. She could not breathe and swallowed water. The Supreme Court dismissed a . 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. Never nothing. He was pronounced dead at 3:36p.m. While in jail, Honken confessed to fellow inmates that he'd killed witnesses from an earlier case. 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. On death row, Honken befriended Lee and knew his execution was called off one hour, then was back on another hour, Donoghue said. [39] Circuit Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao wrote concurring opinions concluding that Honken may be executed, but for different reasons. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ The government paid for snacks, drinks and pizza. Because of legal delays, they ended up spending more than 12 hours there. hitType: 'event', But his lawyer, Shawn Nolan, countered, saying that Honken had been "redeemed" and that he "recognized and repented for the crimes he had committed. In July 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the conviction, finding sufficient evidence to conclude that Johnson had participated in the murders. Yet, Marge knew foul play was involved as she never heard from her daughter or grandchildren again. Honkens lawyer, Shawn Nolan, said his client was redeemed and had repented for his crimes. Johnson admitted that she was involved in Honken's crimes, but blamed him for the murders and said he had manipulated her. He also pointed to Honken's youth, saying, "The court needs to consider his age. He is scheduled to be executed on Friday, July 17. 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.". Susan Negersmith was a 20 year-old woman from Carmel, New York. [24] Tokars testified that Honken described strangling Lori Duncan and Greg Nicholson, and killed the children since "they could have been witnesses." } 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.. So, who were Dustins victims, and what happened to the drug kingpin? He reportedly wanted three last meals before his execution. 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,. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. He believed he would go to heaven. [16], On June 2, 1997, Honken pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute meth and conspiring to manufacture and distribute meth. Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty. 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. However, the plot was discovered and stopped by guards. During the summer of 2020, Dustin Honken 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. Yet Donoghue, of the Sisters of Providence just outside Terre Haute, said she was startled by how calm Honken sounded over the phone. He was at peace. They recruited two drug dealers Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson to sell their meth in northeast Iowa. He then came back for the children and shot them, too. Like the other inmates put to death this week, Honken had appealed his sentence up until the last moments before his scheduled execution at 3 p.m.Central Daylight TimeFriday. 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.". Soon, he would meet Angela Johnson, a woman who shared his ruthless worldview. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); Federal Government Executes 1st Prisoner In 17 Years After Overnight Court Rulings, Federal Government Executes 2nd Man After Supreme Court Denies Appeals. ", Honken then said "Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for me." Their attraction was mutual, and she would shortly dump her current boyfriend, Honkens dealer,DeGeus, for the boss. 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 . 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. In addition, they discovered a note addressed to the neighbor, stating, Phyllis, we had to leave on short notice. His lawyers pointed to the lack of physical evidence linking him to the murders. [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. [40] On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court denied Honken's petition for review, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.[40]. Dustin Lee Honken (March 22, 1968 - July 17, 2020) and Angela Jane Johnson (born January 17, 1964) are American mass murderers convicted of the 1993 murders of five people in Iowa.. He had worn a wire, recorded him making drug deals, and handed the recordings to the authorities in exchange for a lenient prison term. Prosecutors said she deserved to die since she willingly participated in the murder of children and lacked remorse. Maurice Chammah Johnson bought a pistol on July 7, 1993. The prison food during executions cost more than $77,000 over the course of the summer. 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. }); He never returned, and his body was found seven years later in a field outside Mason City in 2000. Congressional Democrats have unveiled legislation this year to abolish the federal death penalty, a goal President-elect Joe Biden says he supports. Iowa-licensed. 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. 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. "[30] She called him a "sociopath who will never admit to what he has done. famous buffalo musicians,