| AGs to meet in St. George to discuss polygamy | |
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By ALYSON VAN DEUSEN alyson@thespectrum.com | |
ST. GEORGE — The attorneys general from Utah and Arizona will host a fourth-annual town hall meeting Thursday at the Dixie Center to discuss issues within polygamist communities. Mark Shurtleff, Utah’s attorney general, and Terry Goddard, attorney general of Arizona, will participate in a panel discussion with Centennial Park resident Don Timpson, Utah Safety Net Coordinator Paul Murphy and David Lujan, an Arizona state representative. "We originally set this up to look at issues in polygamist communities and how we can best assist them," Murphy said. Shurtleff and Goddard decided to work together years ago to investigate child abuse-related crimes, said Andrea M. Esquer, press secretary for Goddard. "It’s an opportunity for the residents of Hildale and Colorado City to tell us what concerns and worries the community has and if there are any problems," Esquer said. St. George is the closest city with a facility large enough to accommodate the crowd, she said. "In past years, it’s been standing room only," Esquer said. The event is sponsored by the Utah-Arizona Safety Net Committee, which hopes to "open up communication, break down barriers and coordinate efforts to give people associated with the practice of polygamy equal access to justice, safety and services," according to a statement from Goddard’s office. The town hall meeting follows a raid of a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado, Texas. The FLDS Church dominates the communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The St. George event was planned before those events unfolded, Murphy said. Murphy said Shurtleff and Goddard will discuss what actions they have taken to ensure citizens within the Arizona and Utah polygamist communities are safe. "They will discuss the approach that Utah and Arizona have taken with crimes in polygamist communities," he said. There are still barriers within the communities that the Safety Net Committee is trying to overcome, Murphy said. After the 1953 raid of a polygamist community in Short Creek, Ariz., governments basically ignored the sect. Crimes, including underage marriage, went unnoticed, Murphy said. Since Shurtleff began his post as attorney general, he has made efforts to ensure safety within Utah’s polygamist and FLDS communities. "We decided to devote our resources to the most serious crimes against the most innocent victims," Murphy said. "We make sure they are investigated and prosecuted." But some say Shurtleff isn’t doing enough. Jean Welch Hill, who is running as the Democratic candidate against Shurtleff in November’s election, said she believes Shurtleff made "half-hearted attempts" at regulating crimes within polygamist communities. "Polygamy itself is difficult to prosecute," Hill said. "But you have to treat the community like any other town in Utah." Hill said more than "the most serious crimes" are prosecuted in other communities in Utah, and polygamist sects should be held to the same standards. "It’s an inroad to the community," she said. "If we make sure kids are educated and provide the resources for that education, we are also going to see more of what is happening." Hill said she also would like to see the attorney general open an office in St. George. Murphy pointed to cases the attorney general’s office has been involved in, including the prosecution of former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who was convicted of accomplice to rape last year. "Mark Shurtleff had done more to protect people in polygamist communities than anyone," he said. Thursday’s town hall meeting is open to the public. | |
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published May 7, 2008 | |
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