Third federal inmate in week given lethal injection

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The U.S. government on Friday put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turnedmeth kingpin convicted of killing five people, the third execution by the federal government in a week.

Dustin Honken, 52, who prosecutors said killed key witnesses to stop them from testifying in his drug 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. His lawyers contended that he had dementia and didn’t know why he was being executed.

The first in the spate of 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. Lee’s execution, like Purkey’s, went ahead only after the U.S. Supreme Court gave it a green light in a 5-4 decision hours before.

Honken, who had been on death row since 2005, was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m. The inmate, known for making a long statement of his innocence at his sentencing, spoke only briefly, neither addressing victims’ family members nor saying he was sorry. His last words were, “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for me.”

Honken’s lawyer, Shawn Nolan, said his client was “redeemed” and had repented for his crimes. Honken was a devout Catholic who “cared for everyone he came into contact with” in prison, Nolan said.

In a statement, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said “just punishment has been carried out.”