The Supreme Court has decided to uphold a Utah state court’s ruling that nullified the death sentence of a man convicted of murder. This man, Douglas Lovell, had been found guilty of killing a woman named Joyce Yost in order to prevent her from testifying against him in a rape trial.
Without offering any comments, the justices denied Utah’s appeal to reinstate Lovell’s death sentence, though the Utah Supreme Court maintained his conviction for the 1985 murder. Lovell’s efforts to avoid conviction for the rape charge included attempts to hire two individuals to eliminate Yost, according to state officials. When these attempts were unsuccessful, he allegedly kidnapped and strangled her himself.
The state court found fault with Lovell’s legal representation during his 2015 sentencing. The lawyers failed to object or adequately respond to testimony regarding Lovell’s excommunication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This inaction, the court argued, deprived the jury of a fair evaluation during sentencing, which originally ended in a death penalty decision.
In 2021, a state judge determined that the church did not unfairly influence Lovell’s trial by setting certain boundaries for testimonies from local church leaders who acted as character witnesses. Lovell had argued that either these witnesses had been silenced by the church or were never even reached out to by his court-appointed lawyer.
Although Joyce Yost was murdered in 1985, Lovell wasn’t charged with her death until 1992. This delay was partly due to his then-wife, who, under promise of immunity, eventually revealed Lovell’s admission of his intentions to kill Yost, and even assisted with the preparations. Upon their divorce, she became a key witness in the case.
Originally, Lovell pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. However, after being allowed to retract his plea, he confessed again in a new trial and instructed his lawyers to concentrate their defense on avoiding a death sentence.
According to court records, Lovell claimed to have buried Joyce Yost’s body in the Wasatch Mountains. Despite his confession and claims, her remains have never been discovered.
