The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a death row inmate who claims the jury selection process in the penalty phase of his case unfairly favored Mormons.
As proof, attorneys for Von Lester Taylor argued in June that prosecutors used a scoring system to rank jurors, and their notes reflect a pattern of trying to eliminate potential jurors who were not members in good standing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Attorney Brian Pomerantz said the practice was as much a violation of constitutional rights as striking a potential juror because of their sex or race.
However, the Supreme Court justices said Taylor should have raised the claims in earlier appeals and had failed to prove there was a reason he could not do so.
Justices also said the information didn't meet the standards for "new evidence" outlined under Utah's post-conviction relief law.
Taylor's original attorneys participated in the jury selection process and knew that the religious affiliation of potential jurors was being considered, the court added.
"Further (Taylor) should have been aware that LDS members comprised approximately 78 percent of the jury pool," Justice Jill N. Parrish wrote in the 21-page opinion.
The court also held that Taylor failed to prove a claim that his previous lawyers were ineffective.
It was Taylor's third appeal in state court system.
A jury recommended the death penalty after Taylor pleaded guilty to the murders of Beth Potts and her daughter Kaye Tiede during a break-in at a Summit County cabin in 1990. A co-defendant, Edward Steven Deli, received a life sentence.
Police said Taylor repeatedly shot Potts, 72, and Tiede, 49. Police said Taylor and Deli then shot Kaye Tiede's husband, Rolf, and kidnapped two of his daughters before setting the cabin on fire and fleeing. Law enforcement rescued the daughters.
Rolf Tiede survived, even though he was shot point-blank in the head and doused with gasoline when the cabin was set on fire.
In June, Assistant Utah Attorney General Erin Riley argued the high court had already upheld lower court decisions about the jury selection process and other claims made by Taylor's attorneys regarding inconsistent witness statements.
Riley argued the only purpose for the ongoing legal process was to delay Taylor's execution.
A federal court appeal is also pending.
