SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court denied condemned killer Ron Lafferty’s petition for a rehearing on his request for permission to make an appeal to another court.
None of the judges on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver wanted to reconsider his case after a three-judge panel rejected the request in August. He can still petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.
Lafferty had sought a certificate of appealability, something he has already failed to obtain twice before. A certificate of appealability is needed in order for another court to hear arguments that a habeas corpus appeal was wrongfully denied.
Lafferty and his brother, Dan Lafferty, were convicted of slitting the throats of his sister-in-law, Brenda Lafferty, and her infant daughter in 1984 — crimes they committed after Ron Lafferty allegedly received a revelation from God telling him to kill them. Dan Lafferty was sentenced to life in prison.