Warren Jeffs....life

[Dan Murphy]

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ist-leader-warren-jeffs-gets-life-in-prison/1

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52354441-78/jeffs-sexual-child-assault.html.csp

San Angelo, Texas • A jury on Tuesday sentenced polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs to life in prison for having sex with underage girls.

Jurors deliberated for 40 minutes before ordering Jeffs to serve life in prison on one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and 20 years in prison on one count of sexual assault of a child. They also determined Jeffs must pay a $10,000 fine.

In a closing statement given Tuesday morning, prosecutor Eric Nichols told the jury the 55-year-old Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints leader was a man who "perverted a religion to his own ends" and treated women and children not as human beings but as "property for sexual gratification and child bearing."

"Evidence is this case shows this is not the prosecution of a people, this is a prosecution to protect a people," Nichols said.

Prosecutors rested their case against Jeffs in the sentencing phase of his trial on Monday. Jurors last week convicted Jeffs in connection with two plural marriages to girls ages 12 and 15.

During the sentencing phase, prosecutors presented evidence of other so-called bad acts committed by Jeffs. Jurors were told Jeffs took a total of 78 plural wives, including 12 girls he wed at age 16 and another 12 he married at age 15 or younger, according to evidence and testimony presented in court Monday.

Jurors heard several audio recordings of what prosecutors said was Jeffs giving sexual instruction to underage wives and even having intercourse in a baptismal font inside a temple at the sect’s Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado.

Jeffs represented himself during the guilt or innocence phase of his trial and chose not to attend his sentencing hearings. After prosecutors rested their sentencing case against Jeffs on Monday, new Jeffs defense lawyer Jed Silverman of Houston, declined to call any witnesses.

 

[dngnb8]

not long enough if you ask me....

 

[Azrael]

This is terrific news. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Mermaid02]

not long enough if you ask me....

Exactly what I was going to say.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I don't usually celebrate people's pain but I'll make an exception in this case. The children are now safe!!! Jeffs will now be somebody's bride.

 

[Deb in IA]

The worst of the worst.

A monster using "religion" as an excuse for his depravity.

Here's hoping he goes away for a very, very long time. As in eternity.

 

[punkin]

I don't usually celebrate people's pain but I'll make an exception in this case. The children are now safe!!! Jeffs will now be somebody's bride.

No, I'm sure there are other abusers in this "church" and they will be more than happy to take Jeff's place.

 

[DWGal210]

Jeffs will now be somebody's bride.

MTE!!

Now I wonder if they will/can go after others in the sect for similar abuse.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Where do these people come from, and how can other people be so dim witted as to follow them?

 

[DWGal210]

Where do these people come from, and how can other people be so dim witted as to follow them?

Just a guess - but I think the majority of the sect has been there for generations. They don't know any other reality or way of living.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

The worst of the worst.

A monster using "religion" as an excuse for his depravity.

Here's hoping he goes away for a very, very long time. As in eternity.

I would rather see him put away for a short time and move on to eternity in hell.

 

[beachlover9395]

Where do these people come from, and how can other people be so dim witted as to follow them?

If I understand correctly, they basically create their own "town" and practically everyone there is a follower. They also intermarry amongst their followers and there's genetic disorders for some of the children due to this. Most women have many children. This is the only life they've ever known and they're taught to worship the "prophet" from day one. And thus the cycle continues.

This is pretty simplistic and there's lots more to it, so hope this helps some.

 

[NY Disney fan]

If I understand correctly, they basically create their own "town" and practically everyone there is a follower. They also intermarry amongst their followers and there's genetic disorders for some of the children due to this. .

From age 6 to 25, I grew up in a neighborhood like this. I was not one of them, I was an outsider who just lived among them. They weren't FLDS but another sect. And I can say for sure, that they have their OWN police and judicial system. The real cops never hear about the stuff that goes on in these communities. The women and children are pretty much told to keep shut. This is the part of America that not a lot of people know about and it goes on in every state.

 

[Uncle Remus]

From age 6 to 25, I grew up in a neighborhood like this. I was not one of them, I was an outsider who just lived among them. They weren't LDS but another sect.

I'm still livin' in one as an outsider...in Texas!

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I don't think the FLDS has always been this extreme. I read the books Carolyn Jessop wrote about her life in the sect and it sounds like things were more "normal" during her childhood in that she wore normal clothing for the time and attended school. She was also allowed to get a teaching degree. None of this is even a remote possibility now.

Sadly I don't think a whole lot will change. Someone else will step into the leadership role.

What bugs me is how they work the system to qualify for Medicaid and food stamps. All wives after the first are legally single mothers and Don't have much if any income. They don't want any government interference yet they take government money to help sustain the lifestyle.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

From age 6 to 25, I grew up in a neighborhood like this. I was not one of them, I was an outsider who just lived among them. They weren't LDS but another sect. And I can say for sure, that they have their OWN police and judicial system. The real cops never hear about the stuff that goes on in these communities. The women and children are pretty much told to keep shut. This is the part of America that not a lot of people know about and it goes on in every state.

Wow! I had no idea these communities existed in America.

 

[minkydog]

He got exactly what he deserved. Death would have been too easy for him. I predict he will have a very uncomfortable experience in prison. They will almost surely have to put him in isolation for his own protection. That might sound like a breeze, but I'm sure that after a couple weeks of no contact with other humans he will be suffering mightily.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Wow! I had no idea these communities existed in America.

...and you should see the food stamps and welfare used to support them!!!

 

[tlbwriter]

I don't usually celebrate people's pain but I'll make an exception in this case. The children are now safe!!!

Sadly, they are not. Someone else will take his place.

Jeffs will now be somebody's bride.

Oh, karma.

 

[weheartdisney]

That man is sick, sick, sick. I hope he enjoys his own hell in prison...and beyond.

I heard he has spent over $10,000 in phone cards so he could stay in touch with his *people* and keep sending orders. I wonder if that will continue, or if he will give up being the "prophet" and someone else will get to slide into that position? Can you imagine being 12 years old and married off to some 60-70 year old man? Uuugh....that makes my skin crawl.