The Utah Supreme Court today ordered convicted killer Doug Lovell's case back to 2nd District Court.
Lovell has been on death row since 1993 for the killing of Joyce Yost in 1985 to prevent her from testifying to his rape of her.
The high court found 2nd District Judge Michael Lyon erred in denying Lovell's request to withdraw his guilty plea to the homicide. Lyon inherited the case from retired Judge Stanton Taylor, who invoked the death penalty after Lovell's sentencing hearing 17 years ago.
Upon withdrawing his guilty plea, a possible trial of Lovell will feature his own sworn testimony from his sentencing hearing as to why he killed Yost, 39, of South Ogden, and how he strangled her. Lovell went forward with the slaying after paying two former prison pals to kill her who failed to follow through, according to testimony.
In a unanimous decision the justices found Judge Taylor made errors in taking Lovell's guilty plea in 1993 in not expresslly advising him of the presumption of innocent in his favor and his right to trial. In effect, the high court said Judge Lyon should have allowed the guilty plea to be withdrawn, despite rules introduced in 2005 that allowed for "harmless errors" in taking a plea.
Lyon had found that the flawed plea process was harmless given Lovell's experience in the criminal justice system, first sent to prison at age 19 for armed robbery. He was serving time in prison for Yost's rape when he was charged with her murder.
In an unusual plea bargain, prosecutors had agreed not to seek Lovell's execution if he could take authorities to the site where he said he buried her in Ogden Valley. Despite a five-week search, her remains were never recovered.
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