Utah death-row inmate back in court over trial questions

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — A Utah death-row inmate is heading back to court to determine if he had ineffective legal counsel and if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meddled in his 2015 trial.

The Standard-Examiner reports 61-year-old Douglas Lovell will be back in an Ogden courtroom starting Monday over questions about the trial that resulted in his second death sentence.

Court documents say Lovell killed Joyce Yost in 1985 to prevent her from testifying after he raped her.

He pleaded guilty in 1993 and was sentenced to death.

The Utah Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that Lovell could withdraw his plea, leading to the 2015 jury trial.

The hearings aim to determine if Lovell’s attorneys did their jobs properly and if the church asked ecclesiastical leaders to not testify.