Yes, Utah still has the death penalty. It applies only to aggravated murder committed by someone who was at least 18 at the time, and it is rarely sought and even more rarely carried out. The state has executed eight people since 1976, most recently Taberon Honie by lethal injection on August 8, 2024. A 2026 law signed by Governor Spencer Cox moved to speed up the appeals process rather than abolish the punishment.
The Only Crime That Can Bring a Death Sentence
Aggravated murder is the sole death-eligible offense in Utah. A standard murder charge cannot result in execution, no matter how serious. To pursue death, prosecutors must show the killing involved at least one statutory aggravating circumstance and must file a formal notice of intent to seek a death sentence before trial.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 76-5-202 – Aggravated Murder — Penalties
The statutory aggravators cover a wide range of circumstances, including:
- A murder committed while the defendant is confined in a jail or prison.
- A killing that is part of a course of conduct in which two or more other people were killed or the defendant attempted to kill additional people.
- A murder committed during or in connection with robbery, kidnapping, rape, arson, burglary, or child abuse, among other felonies.
- A killing motivated by money, including murder-for-hire.
- A murder committed to prevent arrest by a law enforcement officer or to escape lawful custody.
- Killing an on-duty peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical worker, or killing one because of that role.
- A prior conviction for murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, rape, or another specified violent crime.
- A killing involving physical torture, serious physical abuse, or serious bodily injury inflicted before death.
Anyone younger than 18 at the time of the killing is automatically ineligible. Aggravated murder committed by a juvenile is charged as a noncapital first-degree felony.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 76-5-202 – Aggravated Murder — Penalties
How a Death Sentence Gets Imposed
Even a conviction for aggravated murder with an aggravator does not automatically produce a death sentence. Utah holds a separate penalty hearing after the guilt phase. A jury weighs the aggravating circumstances against any mitigating evidence the defense offers. If the defendant waives a jury with court and prosecution approval, a judge does the weighing. The rules of evidence are relaxed at this stage, so the fact-finder hears a broader picture of both the crime and the defendant.2Utah Legislature. Utah Code 76-3-207 – Capital Felony — Sentencing Proceeding
Death requires a unanimous jury. Every juror must be persuaded, beyond a reasonable doubt, that total aggravation outweighs total mitigation and that death is justified and appropriate. One holdout removes death from the table. The remaining choices are life in prison without the possibility of parole, or an indeterminate term of at least 25 years that can extend to life.2Utah Legislature. Utah Code 76-3-207 – Capital Felony — Sentencing Proceeding
How Utah Carries Out Executions
Lethal injection is the default method. State law requires two or more trained personnel to administer a continuous intravenous injection of substances sufficient to cause death without a substantial risk of severe pain.3Utah Legislature. Utah Code 77-19-10 – Judgment of Death — Location and Procedures for Execution
The firing squad remains available, but only as a backup. Utah barred inmates from choosing it in 2004, though anyone who had already selected the method before that change was grandfathered in. Ronnie Lee Gardner’s 2010 execution used the firing squad on that basis. Under current law, the state uses a five-officer firing squad only if it cannot obtain lethal injection drugs at least 30 days before the scheduled execution, or if a court rules lethal injection unconstitutional on its face or as applied to a particular defendant. The executive director of the Department of Corrections selects the officers.4Utah Legislature. Utah Code 77-18-113 – Judgment of Death — Method Is Lethal Injection — Exceptions for Use of Firing Squad
Appeals and Clemency
Every death sentence in Utah triggers an automatic review by the Utah Supreme Court, regardless of whether the defendant files an appeal. The review takes priority over all other cases on the court’s docket, and the court must begin its review within 60 days of receiving the trial record. Justices examine the proceedings for legal errors such as improper jury instructions or improperly admitted evidence.5Utah Legislature. Utah Legislature Bill Analysis – HB495 Capital Felony Case Amendments
That mandatory review is only the first layer. Death row inmates typically pursue further state and federal appeals, including post-conviction claims of ineffective counsel and federal habeas corpus petitions. The full process routinely runs for decades. Utah executed Gardner in 2010 and did not carry out another execution until Honie’s on August 8, 2024, a gap of 14 years.
Clemency in Utah does not run through the governor. Under the Utah Constitution, the power to commute a death sentence belongs to the Board of Pardons and Parole, an independent body. The Board can commute a death sentence only to life without parole. Governor Cox has publicly said it is “a relief to not have that power.”6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 77-27-5.5 – Review Procedure — Commutation
The Board first decides whether a petition raises a substantial issue that the courts have not already addressed. It cannot revisit constitutional questions that were raised or should have been raised during the judicial process. If it finds no substantial issue, it denies a hearing outright. If it does find one, both sides can present evidence and argument.6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 77-27-5.5 – Review Procedure — Commutation
Where the Law Is Headed
Utah lawmakers considered ending the death penalty in 2022. A Republican-sponsored bill would have replaced it with a sentence of 45 years to life. Supporters pointed to cost, the toll that decades of appeals take on victims’ families, and the risk of executing an innocent person. Opponents argued the death penalty delivers proportional justice for the worst crimes and gives prosecutors leverage in plea negotiations. The bill failed in a House committee on a 6-5 vote.
In 2026, the legislature moved the other direction. HB495, sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci and Sen. Dan McCay and signed by Governor Cox, creates expedited review timelines for capital cases and modifies the automatic review process. It also changes competency proceedings and the standards for challenging the effectiveness of counsel on appeal. The direction of Utah’s recent legislation points toward making the existing death penalty function faster rather than eliminating it.