Warren Steed Jeffs Convicted
Warren Steed Jeffs has been convicted of being an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin and is facing possible life in imprisonment.
Warren Jeffs was her only ticket out
Prosecutors said Warren Steed Jeffs, performed the ceremony and forced Elisa Wall into marriage and sex against her will.
The Jurors said they agreed that Warren Jeffs rejected the girl’s pleas and refused to release her from the marriage. “He was pretty much her only ticket out of the relationship,” said juror Jerry Munk, 36.
Defense attorney Wally Bugden, who told jurors that Jeffs was a victim of religious persecution, declined to comment.
A new Juror
Over the last three days the jury has deliberated for about 16 hours but On Tuesday morning, the judge replaced a juror with an alternate for undisclosed reasons.
With a new juror in place the deliberations went quickly. She told the other members of the jury what she thought about the case and talks resumed. Her fellow jurors credited her with raising some new points that helped move the group toward the decision.
Is it possible that the Judge replaced a juror that was pro Warren Jeffs for a Juror that wanted to convict him in order to tip the scales towards convicting Jeffs?
Do you think this could be used as another means to appeal the case to the state supreme court?
Was this trial about religion?
“This trial has not been about religion or vendetta. It was simply about child abuse and preventing abuse,” Elisa Wall said in prepared remarks after the verdict.
“The easy thing would have been to do nothing, but I have followed my heart and spoken the truth,” she said.
It seems kind of strange to me that they claim this trial is not about religion and yet in the Jeffs trial,Warren the leader of the religion is being prosecuted, but Steed the man who actually did the raping of Elisa Wall has not been charged with any crime.
What do you think about this peculiar situation?
September 26, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Elisa Wall ranks among the bravest young women of the 21st century. I hope that other children + teenagers abused by this sect will draw strength from her example and take action against these physical and psychological child abusers.
How these practices are (still) tolerated in a civilised society that considers human rights and personal freedom one of its most precious ‘commodities’ is beyond me.
Fantastically well done, Elisa Wall!
September 26, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Who is worse the person who comits the crime or the person who orders it?
The person who is brainwashed into thinking girls are there for to serve him and fullfill his sexual ‘needs’ or the person who preaches it?
The Stasi (East German secret police) ordered border guards to shoot escaping men, women and children. The border guards were following orders and obeying what was the law at the time. The were prosecuted when the wall came down because it goes so far against our sence of right and wrong.
The Stasi shot no one. They just gave the orders. Of course they were also prosecuted.
Who is more responsible? the leader or follower?
September 26, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I’ve got to say you pose an interesting question. While Jeffs may have “brokered the deal” it is significant that the actual Rapist is being treated as just another witness / bystander.
September 26, 2007 at 9:36 pm
To: Jane Toxida
“Elisa Wall ranks among the bravest young women of the 21st century”
You are right; Elisa Wall is very brave for doing what she’s done. It must take a tremendous amount of courage to stand up to a religious leader such as Warren Jeffs even if you don’t believe that he is a prophet any more. Just the fact that her family friends and people she grew up with believe in him would put an unimaginable amount of pressure on her to do nothing.
“How these practices are (still) tolerated in a civilised society that considers human rights and personal freedom one of its most precious ‘commodities’ is beyond me.”
It is terrible that crimes such as this are happening. And I think that much of the reason that they happen as frequently as they do is because polygamy is illegal.
People are afraid of loosing their families like they did in the 53 raid. And so they do their best to deal with their problems on their own. Not wanting to bring law enforcement in, risking the loss of their families.
If polygamy was legal it would allow polygamist groups to be much more open and make it much easier to prosecute offenders.
September 27, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I think this answers your question:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20996470/
They have now charged the husband with rape.
September 27, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I feel the whole trial is about religion and now the ax will fall. If the government thinks this will stop our belief, they are wrong. This trial and the charge against the husband will only assure that everyone will scatter and hide. They think it was hard to find and talk to anyone before will see they won’t find anyone now.
November 22, 2007 at 6:12 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
April 25, 2008 at 7:20 pm
The whole mess is about co-opting the choices of people with the threat of hellfire… if that’s religion, then it’s about religion.
However, I think that it’s more about the intimidation of the ignorant and helpless. This is really about power.
I don’t really condemn multiple relationships. I do condemn one-sided arrangements that manipulate people with irrational fear.
All this prophet crap! It’s nothing to do with God.
March 10, 2009 at 1:32 am
As people have pointed out, the husband was indeed charged with rape: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=4863899&page=3
If you read Elissa’s book (Stolen Innocence), which is excellent by the way, she addresses the juror issue. The juror that was removed was a rape victim herself, and she did not reveal this fact during jury selection. They removed her to remove bias and the possibility of a mistrial down the road.
I am not a polygamist, have been married monogomously for 20 years and do believe it works by the way, but the issue to me is not consenting adults agreeing to engage in plural marriage, it is a culture that preaches to women that their whole purpose is to obey their husbands and be brood mares or they go to hell. And the fact they they arrange under age marriages and ignore physical (Elissa Wall at least had several black eyes in her marriage) and sexual abuse of children and women is horrific. I can’t imagine being in a position where I think the man hitting and raping me is my only ticket into heaven, wow!
Now, I am hoping that Warren Jeffs and the culture he created is abnormal within the FLDS community. And I like to think I am open minded enough to think that plural marriage can work for some. Each to their own, as long as no one gets hurt….live and let live.