[3] Although Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1965, the crime was a federal case since it involved a continuing criminal enterprise.

Federal court appeals later described their relationship while dismissing claims that there was substantial mitigation in his upbringing:The movant's mother provided a stable, nurturing and loving environment, never abandoned him, did not fail to provide any sort of safe space or comfort to him, never neglected him, never failed to calm him or tell him that things were going to be okay, acted as a loving caretaker and facilitated the movant's attachment to her by making herself available to him.

[8]Honken, who was proficient in math, science, and writing, earned a scholarship to North Iowa Area Community College in 1991.

[10] The defense did not have Rickert take the stand out of the fear that she might conclude Honken was a sociopath or had narcissistic personality disorder.

[12][13] Johnson was raised by extremely religious grandparents who would hold her down, wave Bibles over her head, and speak in tongues in an attempt to exorcise demons from her.

After finishing a year of community college chemistry classes with an A-minus, Honken decided to become both a drug manufacturer and a dealer using what he had learned.

[9] Honken enlisted his best friend, Tim Cutkomp, moved to Arizona, and borrowed $5,000 from his brother to buy chemicals and equipment.

[9] Within a year, Honken and Cutkomp managed to produce several pounds of nearly pure meth, which they sold in northeast Iowa, primarily through two dealers: Terry DeGeus and Greg Nicholson.

[15] Honken, seeking to expand his drug dealing business, studied chemistry textbooks at the library, read science journals, kept extremely thorough records, made plans to expand his business to the Internet, and considered writing his own book about how to make and sell meth in the United States.

Authorities had found almost 150 grams of pure meth in Nicholson's house, and he'd agreed to become an informant in exchange for leniency.

Johnson lured DeGeus to a country club under the guise of wanting to rekindle their relationship, then drove to an abandoned house where Honken was waiting.

On February 7, 1996, officers executed a search warrant on Honken's house and discovered his meth lab, chemicals, equipment, books, and notes, including ones on manufacturing drugs and how to bind and gag people.

Honken conspired with another inmate to escape from jail by breaking a hole in the wall of his cell and having Johnson deliver a hacksaw and a rope.

Honken's lawyer, Alfredo Parrish, requesting a sentence of 10 to 15 years, attacked the government's handling of the evidence in the case.

[23] While in prison, Honken made plans to escape, and then murder witnesses, law enforcement officers, and the federal prosecutor.

To prepare for his escape, Honken and fellow inmates practiced retrieving an officer's weapon, learning how to remove handcuffs with minimal tools, and training in martial arts scenarios centering around encounters with an armed escort.

While awaiting trial, she met Robert Gene McNeese, a career criminal and informant who was serving a life sentence.

[9] He and Johnson passed notes through the food slot in his door[clarification needed] about their lives in jail and their childhoods.

After a court found that Honken posed an extreme security risk due to his history of escape attempts and threatening witnesses, he was ordered to wear a stun belt and be shackled and bolted to the floor during his trial.

[21] A judge initially barred McNeese from testifying against Johnson during her trial on the grounds that he was acting as a federal agent.

[26] Tokars testified that Honken described strangling Lori Duncan and Greg Nicholson, and killed the children since "they could have been witnesses".

[8][12] Honken's defense presented testimony from his family, and pointed to his age and lack of prior violent convictions as mitigating factors.

[33] The presiding judge Mark W. Bennett stated, "I am troubled by the lack of certainty in the record concerning the precise involvement of Angela Johnson in these crimes".

In July 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the conviction, finding sufficient evidence to conclude that Johnson had participated in the murders.

[15][33] In March 2012, Bennett vacated Johnson's death sentence, citing a failure by her attorneys to introduce evidence about her mental state from an "alarmingly" dysfunctional defense team.

[7] On November 20, 2019, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a preliminary injunction preventing the resumption of federal executions.

[41] Circuit Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao wrote concurring opinions concluding that Honken may be executed, but for different reasons.

[42] Circuit Judge David S. Tatel dissented, arguing the statute explicitly requires the federal government to follow state execution protocols.

[42] On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court denied Honken's petition for review, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.

His final words were a reciting of the poem "Heaven-Heaven" by Gerard Manley Hopkins:"I have desired to go, where springs not fail, to fields where flies no sharp and sided hail, and a few lilies blow.