On July 28, the Utah Supreme Court reversed two convictions for accomplice to rape for Warren Jeffs, the leader and “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeffs had been convicted in 2007 of using his power over the followers of his religious faith to force a fourteen year-old girl into marriage with her nineteen year-old cousin.
The court found that the instructions given to the jury in Jeff’s case were erroneous and that error affected the outcome of the verdict. CNN reports that the victim in the case repeatedly objected to her marriage and did not want to have sexual relations with her husband. Evidence was given at trial that Jeffs counseled her to “submit” to her husband and give herself entirely to him and her marriage. This, said Jeffs, was the only way she could be sure of eternal salvation.
Defense attorneys had argued that marrying someone, encouraging them to make their marriage work and “be fruitful and multiply … that is not the same thing as saying to a husband, ‘I’m encouraging you to rape your wife,’” said defense attorney Wally Bugden.
But the convictions overturned by the higher court does not mean Warren Jeffs is a free man. The prosecution is considering a re-trial. In addition, any motion for bail while Jeffs awaits retrial may be thwarted by the federal charges of crossing state lines to avoid prosecution that attached when Jeffs crossed state lines in 2006 to avoid capture. Finally, Jeffs may be extradited to Texas to face the serious charges of felony sexual assault of a child. If convicted on the Texas charges, Jeffs could face a maximum penalty of five to 99 years, or life in prison.
Elissa Wall, the victim in this case, has not been cowed by her experiences. She told the Deseret News, “Wrongs have been done and justice has not been served. I want to see justice served. I want to see little girls like myself at 14 years old protected.”
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