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Show Utah's top court upholds trial which sentenced Lafferty to death The Utah Supreme Court Monday upheld a 4th District Court jury's decision which sentenced Ronald Watson Lafferty to death for the July 24, 1984 slaying of his sister-in-law Brenda Wright Lafferty and her infant daughter. Lafferty and his brother, Dan, were convicted for the homicides I during separate trials held two i years ago. j At the conclusion of the trials, Dan I Lafferty received a sentence of life imprisonment while jurors gave Ron the death penalty. Michael Esplin and Gary Weight, Ron, Lafferty's lawyers, argued, among other things, that Ron's sentence was unfair in light of his J brother's sentence. I, Issues presented on the appeal included claims that the trial court erred by forcing Ron to stand trial while incompetent and denying him his right of self -representation. The justices, however, unanimously upheld his conviction, although not all agreed with the death sentence. "We affirm all convictions and all sentences which are the subject of this appeal," Justice Michael D. Zimmerman wrote for the majority. Mental competency to stand trial was an issue throughout the criminal proceedings against the j brothers. Ron's attorneys argued that expert medical witnesses testified he suffered from a religious paranoia that caused him to reject civil authority. Supreme Court justices ruled, however, that 4th District Judge J. Robert Bullock was not in error by allowing Ron Lafferty to stand trial. "Having reviewed the record evidence under the standard or review applicable to trial court findings of fact, we cannot say that the trial court's findings were clearly erroneous," Justice Zimmerman Zim-merman wrote. Even though the court found Ron Lafferty competent to stand trial, it was not obligated to honor his request that he be permitted to defend himself. "A mere finding of competence, without more, does not automatically enable an accused to waive the constitutional right to assistance of counsel and to conduct his or her own defense . . . ," Justice Zimmerman wrote. Ron and Dan Lafferty were allegedly participants in a fringe religious group called the School of the Prophets at the time of the murders. Evidence presented at their trials said they believed they had received a revelation that their sister-in-law and her 15-month-old daughter should be killed. |