LAYTON -- Terri Cook was starting to live her life again when the phone rang Tuesday.
It was Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings.
"He said he had bad news about Mark Anthony Ott," Cook said. "I thought he had escaped."
Ott, 45, is serving life without parole at Utah State Prison for the aggravated murder of Cook's 6-year-old daughter, Lacey Paige Lawrence. Lacey died Sept. 1, 2002, in a house fire that Ott started at the home of his estranged wife, Donna Ott.
Mark Ott is also serving several other sentences in connection with the house fire and assaults that occurred at the same time.
On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court overturned Ott's sentence in the aggravated murder conviction.
In a 21-page ruling, justices wrote that Mark Ott's counsel was "deficient for failing to object to victim impact evidence that addressed Mr. Ott's character, chances for rehabilitation and deserved sentence because such victim impact evidence clearly violates the Eighth Amendment when introduced in capital sentencing hearings."
A 12-member jury on April 2, 2004, spent seven hours deliberating Ott's sentence following a week of testimony from those affected by the crime.
The justices sent the case back to 2nd District Court in Farmington for a new sentencing hearing.
The ruling said the victims' opinion of the defendant's character and the appropriate sentence were "at odds with the United Sates Supreme Court precedent."
It quoted testimony from Allen Lawrence, Lacey's father; Donna Ott, Mark Ott's estranged wife; Sarah Gooch, and Lucy Gooch, Donna Ott's daughters; and Amber Lawrence, Allen Lawrence's daughter. All of them said they wanted Mark Ott to be locked up for life without the possibility of parole because they feared what he was capable of doing.
"The past seven years have been hell," Cook said.
Donna Ott filed for divorce in June 2002 and had a protective order against Mark Ott.
Lacey was Cook's only child. She had gone to spend the night with her father, Allen Lawrence. Lawrence and Donna Ott were dating at the time and Allen and Lacey ended up at Donna's home.
In the early morning, Mark Ott entered the home and stabbed Lawrence multiple times, then stabbed Sarah Gooch, who was 17 at the time, as she tried to save Allen Lawrence's life.
"We're terribly disappointed with the decision," said Assistant Attorney General Laura B. DePaix. "We think Mark Ott committed a horrific act of domestic violence that resulted in the senseless death of a 6-year-old girl. Mark Ott is a violent and dangerous man who should never be released."
Cook said she does not know if she has the strength to go through another sentencing hearing.
"It's not fair," she said crying. "I don't get my daughter back, why should he get out?"
Allen Lawrence said Lacey "never had the chance to tell the jury how it felt to slowly suffocate and burn to death, knowing she was going to die. We think about Lacey every day and we miss the sweet child she was."
Allen Lawrence said Mark Ott hired John Caine to defend him because Caine was the most competent attorney who handled similar cases. But Caine died and "now he's no longer around to defend himself or his integrity."
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, in a written statement said that Ott remains in prison and is not being released.
Rawlings said his office has met with the victims to discuss the options. The court did not overturn Ott's convictions, but did rule that a new sentencing hearing must be held.
DePaix said she is reviewing options with the Davis County Attorney's Office. Those options include going forward with a new sentencing hearing, asking the Utah Supreme Court to review the case again or taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We know the emotional toll it takes on the victims and the families," DePaix said.
Elizabeth Hunt, who was appointed to represent Mark Ott on his appeals, said she "is delighted with the ruling because it looks into areas of the law."
Hunt said there were "lots and lots of problems with the case" but the justices chose to focus on the victim impact statements.
Mark Ott's father, Valentine Ott, said the ruling was "a long time in coming. We're not saying a crime was not committed, but we do not believe it was committed to the degree he was sentenced."
"I have faith in the courts, and we'll do what the courts say," Valentine Ott said.
Valentine Ott said he believes Judge Michael Allphin and the Davis County Attorney's Office were pressured to "ramrod this case through" so they missed seeing serious errors that occurred.
Updated 11:03 p.m.
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Utah Supreme Court overturns sentencing for confessed arsonist, killer
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court overturned the life without parole sentencing of Mark Anthony Ott, who pleaded guilty in the death of six-year-old Lacey Paige Lawrence.
The ruling was posted on the state court's Web site this morning.
Lacey was spending the night at Donna Ott's home in Layton on Sept. 1, 2002. Ott entered the home of his then estranged wife, stabbed Lacey's father, Allen Lawrence, multiple times, as well as Sarah Gooch, then 17, before dumping gasoline on furniture and starting the house on fire. Gooch was Ott's step-daughter.
A 12-member jury on April 2. 2004 spent seven hours deliberating the sentence of Ott following a week of testimony from those impacted by the crime.
In its 21-page ruling the Utah Supreme Court justices wrote that Ott's counsel was "deficient for failing to object to victim impact evidence that addressed Mr. Ott's character, chances for rehabilitation and deserved sentence because such victim impact evidence clearly violates the Eighth Amendment when introduced in capital sentencing hearings."
The justices sent the case back to 2nd District Court in Farmington for a new sentencing hearing.
Ott is still in prison serving the life without parole sentence and several other sentences in connection with the stabbings and house fire.
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