Judge denies request to delay Iowa drug kingpin’s execution
July 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has denied an Iowa drug kingpin’s requests to delay his execution, which is scheduled for Friday. U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand wrote Tuesday that he would not intervene to delay Dustin Honken’s execution date due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the Bureau of Prisons was in the best position to weigh the health risks against the benefits of carrying out the execution.
Strand also denied Honken’s motion to declare his execution void due to an alleged procedural error by the government. He affirmed the executive branch’s power to set the date for executions.