Utah churches toll their bells in opposition to Taberon Honie execution

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, the sound of church bells somberly rang throughout the Salt Lake valley.

The bells of the Cathedral of the Madeleine and numerous other churches across Utah tolled in opposition to the execution of Taberon Honie, the convicted murderer who is due to be executed by lethal injection at midnight on Thursday.

Nearly 100 Utah leaders, including Catholic Bishop Oscar Solis and former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, stood in opposition to Honie's execution. Aside from getting the public's attention with the tolling of the bells, the community leaders penned a letter to Gov. Spencer Cox and the Utah Legislature, urging them to halt all executions and end the death penalty in Utah.

"We hold a deep love and respect for victims and co-victims of crime, and we most certainly are not opposed to accountability for rightfully convicted persons," the letter reads in part. "However, we believe that the death penalty serves no moral purpose and executions are not necessary to keep society safe or to hold accountable those who have committed horrible crimes."

The community leaders said now is the time to get rid of the "outdated" and "immoral" method of punishment.

The full letter signed by the nearly 100 Utah leaders can be found below:

We are calling upon you as leaders and policy makers in Utah to prohibit the impo...