New century, same debate on polygamy

By Lee Benson, Deseret Morning News

"In July of 1953, Howard Pyle, then the governor of Arizona, ordered a massive police raid on the border town of Short Creek to crack down on polygamist activity there.

" 'Here is a community,' " the governor said, 'dedicated to the wicked theory that every maturing girl child should be forced into the bondage of multiple wifehood with men of all ages for the sole purpose of producing more children ... .'

"Fast forward 54 years.

"Deja vu anyone?

"As we wait for the jury in St. George to conclude its deliberations on rape accomplice charges against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs one verdict is easy to read: "the wicked theory that every maturing girl child should be forced" is still on trial.

"It is the case that will not go away.

"Same stuff, different century."

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Technorati Tags: Elissa Wall, FLDS, LDS, plural marriage, polygamy, Warren Jeffs, Short Creek raid

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'I hated him,' Wall says of her ex-husband

Resuming deliberations today, jurors will weigh exhibits, testimonies - including accuser's
By Brooke Adams, The Salt Lake Tribune

"ST. GEORGE - The jury in the trial of polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs will resume deliberations this morning, picking up where it left off after two hours of discussion on Friday.

"The jurors have much to sort through: six days of testimony, dozens of exhibits and a 21-page instruction booklet. The five men and three women asked just one undisclosed question of attorneys on Friday, according to court spokesperson Nancy Volmer.

"Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with two counts of being an accomplice to rape related to a marriage he conducted in 2001 between Elissa Wall, who was 14, and Allen Steed, 19.

"Wall, who has changed her name, has agreed to the use of the name she used at the time. On Saturday, her attorneys released a photo taken of Wall in her wedding dress the night before the ceremony."

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Technorati Tags: Elissa Wall, FLDS, LDS, plural marriage, polygamy, Warren Jeffs

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Defense Rests, Testimony Over In Jeffs Trial

"The defense rested after jurors heard the former husband of a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors then called a rebuttal witness for brief testimony. Closing arguments are set for Friday.

Jeffs is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is charged with rape by accomplice.

Prosecutors claim he was influential in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin in 2001 and forced the teen to have sex with the young man.

The cousin said Wednesday he never forced himself on the teen bride and instead was a patient, loving husband who wanted to make the relationship work.

The man read from a series of notes and letters in which he poured out his feelings for the girl. He stood so jurors could hear his soft voice and sometimes cried as he testified for the defense."


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Technorati Tags: Warren Jeffs, FLDS, LDS, polygamy, plural marriage, Allen Steed , Elissa Wall

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Alleged victim in Warren Jeffs trial releases photo of herself

"ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC 4 News) - On the eve of closing arguments in the Warren Jeffs trial, ABC 4 has been given a photograph of the alleged victim when she was a girl.

Jeffs is accused of rape as an accomplice for forcing the girl to marry her 19-year old first cousin. ABC 4 was told the picture was taken by her mother while they were on a trip to Canada in the Fall of 2000. At that time she had no idea that just 7 months later she would become a child bride."

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Technorati Tags: Warren Jeffs, FLDS, LDS, polygamy, plural marriage, sltrib, Allen Steed , Elissa Wall photo

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Jeffs' role: Coercion, devotion?

ST. GEORGE - It is now up to a jury to mull over who used power, control and manipulation - Warren Jeffs, Allen Steed or Elissa Wall - in a case that could put Jeffs, a polygamous sect leader, behind bars for life.
The defense view: A "laser beam of guilt" has been focused unfairly on Jeffs because he is the leader of a religion the state doesn't like.
The prosecution view: The only reason Wall entered a marriage at age 14 and then had sex with her cousin was because Jeffs told her to do so.
After attorneys gave closing arguments, the jury deliberated for about two hours Friday. They asked one undisclosed question before recessing until Monday.

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Technorati Tags: Warren Jeffs, FLDS, LDS, polygamy, plural marriage, sltrib, Allen Steed , Elissa Wall

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'Jane Doe' of Warren Jeffs FLDS fame no longer seeks anonymity, shows photo

"Nearly two years after leveling first civil and then criminal allegations against Warren S. Jeffs, a young woman has moved away from anonymity. Elissa Wall on Friday released a photo of herself and agreed to the publication of the name she used in 2001, when she was the 14-year-old bride of her 19-year-old cousin. She wants to remind people how young she was at the time of the wedding, performed by Jeffs, and subsequent alleged rapes by her husband, said Greg Hoole, one of her attorneys. "A photo will help people keep that in mind," Hoole said. Now 21, married, and the mother of two children, she is in a witness protection program and has legally changed her name, he said."

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Technorati Tags: Elissa Wall, Greg Hoole, Warren Jeffs, FLDS, LDS, polygamy, plural marriage, sltrib