[Ay-Pee via KCCI] The U.S. government on Friday put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin convicted of killing five people, the third execution by the federal government in a week.
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. Two others were also put to death during the week after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, including Kansan Wesley Purkey. His lawyers contended he had dementia and didn't know why he was being executed.
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. 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, of Britt, Iowa, had been on death row since 2005 and was the first Iowan with a death sentence imposed by Iowa jurors to be executed since 1963. Iowa struck the death penalty from state statutes in 1965, but Honken was eligible for the death penalty under U.S. law because he was tried in federal court.
Honken was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m., the Bureau of Prisons said.
Honken, whose crimes struck at the foundation of the U.S. justice system, always seemed the least likely to win a reprieve from the courts.
Mark Bennett, the now-retired federal judge who oversaw Honken's 2004 trial for the kidnappings and killings, said previously that he generally opposed the death penalty. But if anyone deserved it, he added, it was Honken.
While out on bond in his drugs case in July 1993, Honken and his girlfriend Angela Johnson kidnapped Lori Duncan and her two daughters from their Mason City, Iowa, home, then killed and buried them in a wooded area nearby. Ten-year-old Kandi and 6-year-old Amber were still in their swimsuits on the hot summer day when they were shot execution-style in the back of the head.
Their primary target that day was Lori Duncan's then-boyfriend, Greg Nicholson, who also lived at the home and was also killed. He and Lori Duncan were bound and gagged and shot multiple times. Honken had recently learned Nicholson, a former drug-dealing associate, was cooperating with investigators and would likely testify against Honken at trial.
Lori Duncan didn't know Nicholson was an informant and she wasn't involved in drugs.
As the investigation into Honken continued, he killed another drug dealer working with him, Terry DeGeus, beating him with a bat and shooting him.
Honken had earlier informed the judge in his drug case that he would plead guilty at the end of July. But days after the still-undiscovered killings of Nicholson and the Duncans, he told the court he would stick to his not guilty plea.
Investigators found the Nicholson and Duncan bodies only seven years later, in 2000, after Johnson scrawled out a map showing a jailhouse informant where they were buried. DeGeus' body was found a few miles from the wooded area.
Honken was considered so dangerous that the judge took the rare step of impaneling an anonymous jury. Other security measures included fitting Honken with a stun belt under his clothes to prevent him from trying to escape.
Johnson, Honken's girlfriend, was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to death. Bennett later reduced her sentence to life behind bars.
Over recent days, prison authorities permitted Honken to make his last calls to family and friends, according to Sister Betty Donoghue, a Catholic nun whom he called Wednesday.
On death row, Honken befriended Lee and knew his execution was called off one hour, then was back on another hour, Donoghue said.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2020 10:37 ||
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#1
I didn't see Judge Tonya's name come up in any of the stories I read. I guess she sees less and less upside in trying to be the single-handed conscience of the federal penal system.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/18/2020 11:39 Comments ||
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#2
So instead of doing something about the scum running around loose, the Feds decide to finally get around to the ones they've had off the streets for years.
BREAKING: Bothell police officer Jonathan Shoop was fatally shot Monday on accident by his partner during multiple rounds of gunfire, and not by Henry Eugene Washington, who has been charged with aggravated murder in his death, investigators said Friday. https://t.co/asQfeto4Dz
#2
The determination is convenient, to say the least. Sort of like the motorcycle fatal that was listed as a COVID death. How can you be sure of anything you hear / read about this stuff nowadays?
Next we will hear that the deaths at Ruby Ridge and Waco were found to be COVID deaths or friendly fire too. Any bets on Kent State?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/18/2020 9:42 Comments ||
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#3
Based on what's been happening, I'm assuming this is a lie or it wasn't an accident.
[Zero Hedge] President Trump suggested in 2015 that reporters ask Prince Andrew about his good friend Jeffrey Epstein's so-called 'pedo' island, calling it an "absolute cesspool." 34-second Trump video clip in the link
According to The Sun, Trump's comments came around the time that accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre alleged that Epstein coerced her into having sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions when she was 17.
Giuffre described in detail a March 10, 2001 encounter with the prince in which she says she danced with him at a London nightclub before he had sex with her. [Hmmm, not JUST Russian collusion?]
#4
Unmired in dull rural irrelevance,
Our urbanite squirrels got intelligence,
At gaming the system
Excelling! Can't miss them:
They're almost as bright as pink elephants!
[Al Ahram] Britannia's Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, married her fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in Windsor on Friday, in a small, COVID-19 secure ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth.
The couple originally planned to marry in May, but the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... lockdown forced them to reschedule.
"The private wedding ceremony of Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took place at 11am on Friday 17th July at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
"The small ceremony was attended by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and close family. The wedding took place in accordance with all relevant Government Guidelines."
Wedding ceremonies have been allowed in England since July 4, with a limit of 30 guests who must all maintain social distancing.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
Is that Princess Bugeyes or the other one? Always felt kinda sorry for her... for both of 'em, really.
Posted by: Snakes Lover of the Algonquins6820 ||
07/18/2020 3:05 Comments ||
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#2
#1 Is that Princess Bugeyes or the other one? Always felt kinda sorry for her... for both of 'em, really.
Posted by: Snakes Lover of the Algonquins6820 2020-07-18 03:05
...It's the other one. Looks a lot like her mom.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/18/2020 6:58 Comments ||
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#3
There is a picture of the happy couple at the link, Snakes Lover of the Algonquins6820.
It’s sad, but I always thought of Prince Andrew’s two girls as the Ugly Stepsisters. They’re both awkward, for some reason, and their taste needed guidance from someone not their mother — they had the elements right, but not the final effect.
[Legal Insurrection] If COVID-19 and a bubonic plague scare weren’t enough disease drama for 2020, there are disturbing reports of a deadly wildlife disease sweeping through the American southwest.
A virus tagged as "bunny Ebola" is decimating the rabbit population.
Across seven states in the Southwest, thousands of wild and domestic rabbits are dying from a rare outbreak of a highly contagious disease known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV2).
Mexico experienced an outbreak of RHDVa in domestic rabbits from 1989 to 1991, presumably following the importation of rabbit meat from the People's Republic of China. A second outbreak of RHD in domestic rabbits began in the state of Chihuahua in April 2020 and has since spread to Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Coahuila, and Durango.
And now, California and the Southwest. I didn't see where it's dangerous to humans. Wikipedia
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/18/2020 8:07 Comments ||
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#2
Predators and scavengers can also spread the virus by shedding it in their feces.
#6
Certain parties are trumpeting otherwise minor health events in the hope of precipitating another panic. There’s been something going through the elk and deer herds out west for decades, a kind of Mad Cow thing disease as I recall, with no more fuss than a requirement that the applicable state Department of Wildlife test the carcass for disease before it’s eaten.
Clearly, from the article, China has been handling the situation for some time. Given that China can handle it, there is no reason why we can’t. Not to mention that, as I understand it, hemorrhagic diseases burn out pretty quickly, unlike less deadly infections.
A new CDC report released Friday shows the first cases of COVID-19 in NYC came from Europe and not from Wuhan, China But the European strain originated in China, we were told.
It also shows stay-at-home orders, travel bans and school closures all came too late to stop the outbreak ravaging the Big Apple President Trump had to fight the CDC as well as Congress to even shut off China — remember the screams that he is a hate-filled, racist, xenophobe? How much worse would he have been castigated by all right-thinking people if he’d immediately cut off Europe, too.
Trump issued a travel ban on China on February 2 but it wasn't until March 13 that he placed restrictions on people coming from Europe By that point reports from Italy had everyone panicked.
The research shows cases were already rampant in New York by this time, with an estimated 1,170 undetected cases by in the week starting March 8 Did we have tests yet, or was the CDC still trying to control it all?
The CDC described the findings as 'unanticipated' while Gov. Cuomo said it was 'damning' and proved key flaws in the president's handling of the crisis That’s certainly one perspective, though not an accurate one.
#2
So NYC was the MAIN ACCESS point which lead to the pandemic taking hold in the USA.
Aren't these same group of LIBERAL Politicians that Ranted about Trump halting International travel?
Aren't these same group of LIBERAL-SOCIALIST Politicians that went out of their way to DEBUNK the Convid-19 Virus initially to keep the Coup Impeachment in the headlines?
Isn't these the Liberal-Socialist Politicians and Mayor even promoted a St. Patty's day parade and other mass gathering against Trumps and other Health Officials warnings?
Sure sounds like a lot of DC, state and local Liberal Socialist Politicians, plus a lot of DC appointed positions are seeking any way they can to get out from under their own deeds and words.
[Al Ahram] President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... has ordered snap military drills involving 150,000 personnel and hundreds of aircraft and naval vessels to ensure "security in Russia's southwest," the defence ministry said Friday.
"In accordance with the decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces snap exercises are being conducted by troops of the Southern and Western military districts," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying in a statement.
The drills involve nearly 150,000 personnel including airborne troops and marine infantry of the Northern and Pacific Fleets, the defence ministry said.
The exercises also involve more than 400 aircraft and over 100 vessels and will be conducted in the Black and Caspian Seas, among other places.
The drills aim to test the Russian army's readiness to ensure "security in Russia's southwest where a serious threat of terrorism remains" as well as prepare for the Caucasus-2020 war games, the defence ministry said.
Earlier this month Putin, 67, oversaw a controversial vote that amended the constitution to allow him to serve two more six-year terms after his mandate expires in 2024.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2020 00:00 ||
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China’s Three Gorges Dam is at severe risk of breaking. The chinese Communists hailed the massive dam as a “1000-year dam” once constructed in 2003. CCP messaging this week is now calling it a “100-yr dam in a 200-yr flood”. They are telling the people to prepare for collapse.
#3
Yes, and a link in Quora discuses the severe consequences to the military downstream of the dam during a dam failure.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2020 1:29 Comments ||
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#4
These idiots have totally lost the mandate of heaven. Let's see now. Covid, floods, earthquakes, locusts, dogs and cats living in harmony. Oh, and everybody hates them and wants a pound of flesh. What could go wrong?
#13
OPEN YOUR EYES
There is a much much bigger picture here.
IF the dam goes there will be a national famine that will starve likely millions.
Plus if the dam goes the flood will consume a major part of China's Manufacturing areas that produce roughly 60 to 70% of our store goods, consumed medical supplies, medications and etc...
#23
From the Quora link above: Three Gorge Dam is a concrete gravity dam. As the result, its structure is self-reinforcing. This means even if top section broke, the bottom part will be intact.
Perhaps, but if you have a 200-year flood upstream, while the reservoir is full, you have a 200-year flood downstream. Not like a 'dam breaking', more like it isn't even there.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/18/2020 10:19 Comments ||
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#28
Currently active with Clive Cussler Sahara Virus for July; thinking of Volcanic Outbreak for August with an extra chip on Kilimanjaro; perhaps Fuji.
Seattle-based Holland America Line has sold four cruise ships as part of parent company Carnival‘s downsizing in the wake of a disastrous downturn for the industry during the pandemic. https://t.co/dX31e0hS6D
#5
Next up: "Safe Warships" crewed only by the marginalized and disadvantaged.
Posted by: Matt ||
07/18/2020 12:39 Comments ||
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#6
Do you really want a female sailor who would be offended by “man overboard” ? Are you really that stupid SecNav or just that gutless? Either way, you need to go, and the morons who urged this as well.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Ay-Pee via KCCI] The U.S. government on Friday put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin convicted of killing five people, the third execution by the federal government in a week.
How's it going, Andy? Ghisy? 
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
[Legal Insurrection] If COVID-19 and a bubonic plague scare weren’t enough disease drama for 2020, there are disturbing reports of a deadly wildlife disease sweeping through the American southwest.
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
