A 32-year-old death-row inmate is scheduled to appear before 2nd District Judge David Roth Thursday so the judge can set a new execution date for him.
John Albert Taylor was convicted and sentenced to die for the June 23, 1989, murder of 11-year-old Charla King in the victim's Washington Terrace apartment.The Utah Supreme Court last week upheld both the conviction and the punishment. Defense attorney Martin Gravis said Taylor would continue with the appeals.
Taylor's trial and punishment phase was heard by Roth in December 1989, and the defendant was the first person in 40 years to be sent to death row by either a jury or a judge in Weber County.
King's body was found by her mother. The young girl had been sexually assaulted and strangled with a telephone cord. Taylor's fingerprints were found on the bottom of the telephone. He admitted to being in the apartment, but only to commit a burglary. The defendant continues to maintain his innocence.