| Texas case against FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs more important after Utah convictons erased | |
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Edward Lane Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner | |
In a dramatic reversal of fortune for FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, the Utah Supreme Court reversed all the convictions in that state against him which would've kept him locked up. Suddenly the Texas cases of bigamy and sexual assault against him loom as something much bigger than additional charges to stack on top of the Utah prison sentences. Now, the State of Texas could be all that stands between the so-called polygamist prophet and his freedom. Earlier this year, the State of Arizona dismissed all its charges against him. Several Wichita Falls residents played significant roles in the Texas case when Texas Rangers and CPS workers descended on the FLDS compound in West Texas. While Utah may still re-try the FLDS prophet, the road to freedom is clearly in front of Jeffs if he can figure out a way to navigate his way through the remaining barriers in the legal system. Things certainly look a lot brighter for the man with many wives and children than they did a few months ago when he was apparently rotting away in an Arizona jail waiting for trial there and looking ahead to a prison stretch courtesy of a Utah jury. Now the Arizona crimnal justice system has thrown in the towel and the Utah justices have erased his prison sentence with one dramatic ruling as if it never existed. Texas had a hearing already set up Tuesday in which the Lone Star State planned to drag him back to face some justice here. But in the wake of the Utah court's ruling, Texas has cancelled its extradition hearing to bring Jeffs back. "We are currently working with the Texas Governor's Office and authorities in Utah to bring Warren Jeffs to Texas to stand trial on felony charges returned by a Schleicher County grand jury," said Jerry Strickland, a spokesperson for the office of the attorney general of Texas in an article from the Salt Lake Tribune which was run by the Wichita Falls Times and Record News newspaper Wednesday. The State of Texas collected evidence for its case for bigamy and sexual assault against Jeffs on the evening of 2008, when Texas Rangers and CPS workers, armed with a search warrant, entered the compound. Child were seized by CPS workers and removed from the mysterious compound. Several of the CPS workers who participated in the raid were from Wichita Falls, Texas. DPS troopers from Wichita Falls also participated in collecting evidence. Wichita Falls attorney Dick Sutherland generously donated his time to represent one of the children. It will be interesting to see what the next chapter brings in the Warren Jeffs saga. | |
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Examiner.com Originally published July 28, 2010 | |
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