Ron Lafferty is not the first Utahn who said he killed because he believed God commanded him to do so.
Followers of polygamist Ervil LeBaron killed many times, claiming God told them to do so. LeBaron's ex-wife, Rena Chynoweth, admitted in her book, "Blood Covenant," that she gunned down Rulon Allred in 1977 because she believed God wanted her to kill the Murray naturopath.Addam Swapp claims he held lawmen at bay in Marion for 10 days in 1987 at God's urging. The standoff resulted in the death of corrections officer Fred House.
Monday's ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals may throw a blanket of immunity over Lafferty, LeBaron, Swapp and others who claim they commit crimes at the command of God.
"We are concerned about what this decision means not only for the Lafferty case but for other cases," said Utah Solicitor General Jan Graham.
The court concluded that Ronald Lafferty may not have been competent to stand trial for the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty because of his "delusional" religious beliefs.
The ruling could set a precedent that would "immunize" religious zealots "from the criminal justice system," Graham said.
"The state believes the criminal justice system should reach defendants who intentionally commit crimes even though they are motivated by religious beliefs that are far from the mainstream," she said.
"We don't want these defendants immunized from the criminal justice system," she said. "Just because you hold religious beliefs deemed by the Court of Appeals to be `delusional' doesn't mean that you are not accountable for your crimes."
State officials must decide quickly whether to ask all 10 judges on the appeals court to hear the case again. The state has 10 days to seek a new hearing from the full court - called an en banc hearing.
Only three judges heard Lafferty's appeal the first time. One of them upheld Lafferty's conviction in a lengthy and vigorous dissent.
"Because the vote was two to one, with a fairly long and strong dissent, we may seek a rehearing," Graham said. "It may be a long shot. Those things are rarely granted."
The state may also appeal the court of appeals' decision directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We have 90 days to file that appeal," Graham said. "Those petitions, too, are rarely granted. But this is a decision we are very concerned about so we are going to take hard look at appealing it."
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Where they are now
- Ron Lafferty is incarcerated in maximum security at the Utah State.
- Dan Lafferty is serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison.
- Mike Esplin and Gary Weight, who were appointed by the court to assist Ron and Dan Lafferty during their trials, are partners in a Provo law firm. They represented Ron Lafferty in his appeals.
- Noall T. Wootton, who was Utah county attorney during the Lafferty trials, has a private practice in American Fork.
- Wayne Watson was deputy county attorney and co-prosecutor. He is now in private practice in Provo.
- Judge J. Robert Bullock, who presided over the Lafferty trials, is now retired.
- Randy Johnson was American Fork police chief. He is now the fire commander with the West Jordan Public Safety Department.
- Richard Johnson, Ron Lafferty's trial attorney, was suspended from the Utah State Bar in 1990. He faces disbarment by the Utah Supreme Court for professional misconduct.
- Two American Fork Police officers handled the murder investigation in 1984, Gary Caldwell and Terry Fox. Both are still working for the police department.
- Ricky Mark Knapp, who accompanied the Laffertys the night of the murders, is incarcerated at the Utah State Prison. He is scheduled for a rehearing on Nov. 9, 2004.
- Charles Alan Carnes also accompanied the Laffertys the night of the murders. He is incarcerated in the Gunnison Prison and is scheduled for a rehearing on Dec. 14, 1999.