It’s been 14 years since Utah’s last execution. Why does it take so long to carry out a death sentence?

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- Just after midnight on Thursday, Aug. 8, Taberon Honie is slated to be executed by lethal injection. His death will mark the first execution in Utah in 14 years.

Honie is among the six prisoners currently sitting on Utah’s death row. Like the others, he’s been there for decades as his case has gone through a lengthy appeals process.

According to the Pew Research Center, death row inmates can make legal appeals to the sentence, including challenges to the way the execution is carried out or even to the sentence itself. It can take years for every appeal to make it through the court system.