A federal appeals court Monday pushed Ron Lafferty, who is on Utah’s death row for the 1984 for the murder of his sister-in-law and niece in American Fork, much closer to a firing squad by denying his latest appeal.
Lafferty, 78, can appeal the latest decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Andrew Peterson, assistant solicitor general at the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
“It’s incredibly unlikely they will review this case," Peterson said, “and if they don’t, we’re talking months” until Lafferty is executed.
“When the most severe penalty a state can impose is at stake,” the statement said, “we look to the courts to be the safety net to ensure that the full protections allowed by the Constitution have been met.