The United States Supreme Court has denied a Britt man’s petition to review his convictions and death sentences for the drug-related murders of five north-central Iowans in 1993. Forty-six-year-old Dustin Honken was convicted by a federal grand jury in 2004 on 17 different counts, including murdering federal witnesses and murder in the furtherance of a drug conspiracy.
The jury determined that Honken should die on four of the counts involving the premeditated murder of two young girls, 10-year-old Kandi Duncan and six-year-old Amber Duncan.
Honken appealed his convictions and sentences raising multiple issues. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions and death sentences. Honken then filed a petition for review to the U.S. Supreme Court, which this week denied his motion in a one-line statement.
Four years ago, Honken’s girlfriend Angela Johnson was convicted of aiding and abetting Honken in the murders and was also sentenced to death. The Supreme Court also denied Johnson’s petition for review one year ago. Honken will have one year to file a petition for post-conviction relief. The U.S. Department of Justice will not schedule an execution date until Honken exhausts any such challenge.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City