This is what the defense lawyers had to say after the trial:
Quote:
Outside the court, Mr. Bugden called everything from the charge to the arrest to the trial's outcome "unfair" and "unjust." He said he and Jeffs's other attorneys will be doing everything necessary to have the result overturned.
"Had he been charged with performing an illegal marriage, that would have been completely different," Mr. Bugden told reporters. "But Mr. Jeffs did not intentionally or recklessly encourage rape."
As a result of the trial, Mr. Bugden suggested that any cleric -- whether FLDS prophet, rabbi or minister -- who performs a religious marriage could be found guilty if a member of their congregation commits a rape.
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I have to admit it seems a bit like he was being persecuted for his beliefs. Should the fact that we detest his beliefs play any role in a court room? Sounds to me like the state attorney suing a mob boss for tax evasion and then seeking the maximum possible sentencing because they can't get him for anything else. Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not sure.
I don't want to defend his actions, but lets put it in perspective. He married off a young girl in a society where that is common practice and then gets held accountable for the actions of her husband. The main reason they were able to bring up the accomplice to rape charge was that when the girl complained to him about her husband he told her to repent and give herself to her husband "mind, body, and soul". This sounds a lot like bad advice from other religious nuts, with the exception that the girl in question was extremely young.
I still think he deserves punishment for this and countless other actions he did during his reign, but I'm not so sure that he's really an "accomplice to rape". Like his lawyers said, couldn't that in theory make any priest, rabbi or even marriage counselor an accomplice?
The real shame is that this kind of practice will continue, and nobody is doing anything to stop it. There are anti-polygamy laws in Utah just like in any other state, but local law enforcement has a policy of not intervening. Why don't we ensure that these people are subject to the same laws and have the same rights like everybody else?
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