| Jurors chosen for polygamist 'Prophet's' trial | |||
|
From Amanda Townsend CNN | |||
SAINT GEORGE, Utah (CNN) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was flown by helicopter to the Utah courthouse where his trial on rape-accomplice charges begins Thursday with lawyers laying out their cases for the jury. Jeffs, shackled and wearing a bulletproof vest over green and white striped jail garb, was escorted under heavy security into court in St. George. Security around the courthouse has been tight because of the trial's high profile and Jeffs' influence as a religious leader. No followers, however, were present inside or outside the courthouse during the morning's jury selection. Jeffs had changed into a suit and silver tie for court and smiled at the pool of jurors. Seven women and five men were seated for the trial, which is expected to last two weeks. Attorneys for both sides will give their opening statements later in the afternoon. Jeffs is accused of coercing an unwilling 14-year-old girl to marry her older cousin. Prosecutors contend that Jeffs' role in placing the child bride in a marriage she did not want makes him responsible for her rape. The defense maintains that Jeffs and his followers believe the state is persecuting them for their religious beliefs. Jeffs, 51, leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS. The polygamist sect splintered from the Mormon church more than a century ago. Authorities allege Jeffs used his influence to coerce the girl into the union in 2001. The 14-year-old's marital sex amounted to statutory rape, prospectors allege. Utah's constitution does not outlaw sex with consenting 14-year-olds, attorneys told prospective jurors. The girl has testified that she did not like having sex in her marriage, but Jeffs told her she risked her salvation if she refused. Jeffs has led the FLDS church since his father's death in 2002. Followers call him the "Prophet," and believe he receives messages from God and leads them to salvation. Former church members say Jeffs ruled the FLDS like a tyrant, excommunicating men and reassigning their wives to others, forcing out hundreds of boys and young men, and arranging marriages between child brides and favored older followers. He was on the FBI's Most Wanted list when he was arrested last year during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas, Nevada. The smooth jury selection process surprised some observers who believed it would be hard to find an impartial jury because of media coverage and contacts with former members of the sect, based in the sister border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. The 300 prospective jurors filled out questionnaires quizzing them about their media exposure, religious beliefs and views on plural marriage. They then were questioned individually by the lawyers and judge. In questioning with one prospective juror Wednesday, Judge James Shumate said polygamists perceive themselves as involved in a civil rights struggle, similar to that of blacks who "refused to sit in the back of the bus" in the 1950s, The Associated Press reported. But polygamy, he said, "cannot be allowed by jurors to be a focus of concern." While Jeffs is not charged with being a polygamist, and the marriage between the cousins was monogamous, polygamy likely will emerge in discussions at trial. | |||
|
CNN.com Originally published September 12, 2007 | |||
| Back | |||
| For more information email: | |||
