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St. George • Lawyers for a southern Utah man facing a possible death penalty sentence are planning to depose all of Utah's 29 county prosecutors in an effort to show capital punishment is unconstitutional.
The Spectrum of St. George reports that attorneys for 34-year-old Brandon Perry Smith said Wednesday that the testimony from the state's prosecutors will help them show the death penalty is unfairly applied.
Attorneys Gary Pendleton and Mary Corporan say that prosecutors seek the death penalty in less than 3 percent of eligible cases, resolving most with a life prison sentence.
Judge G. Michael Westfall says he doesn't want to further slow the progress of the case. A new hearing was set for Feb. 3.
Smith is accused of cutting 20-year-old Jerrica Christensen's throat at a St. George townhome in 2010.
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