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FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs appeal denied
Just in case you thought this guy wasn't cray-cray. He seems to be having a hard time controlling people who don't believe anything he says.
Bolding mine.
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The appeal of FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was denied yesterday(Friday) which means he will continue serving his sentence of life plus twenty years largely based on evidence collected by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers from the Wichita Falls office.
The 2008 raid of the solitary polygamist compound Yearning for Zion Ranch resulted in the successful prosecution of eleven Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints leaders including former president Jeffs which was orchestrated by Wichita Falls native and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Jeffs, who was once on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, is serving his heavy prison sentence in the Powledge Unit, which is part of the Texas penitentiary system, in his own private cell.
Jeffs appeal was denied on technical grounds by a judge for the Texas Third Court of Appeals.
He reportedly failed to file a copy of his trial transcript and pay the necessary fees within the necessary time frame. The first deadline he missed for submitting court records was December 7, 2011. He was warned that his appeal could be dismissed for want of prosecution if he didn't file a status report by January 23.
His jury trial in San Angelo, Texas, was covered by the national news media on a daily basis in August of 2011 and included some dramatic moments.
On one occasion he reprimanded in open court presiding Judge Barbara Walther. He also walked out of his own trial.
Evidence was introduced by lead prosecutor Eric Nichols that Jeffs threatened a boy with eternal damnation for being interested in one of the girls in the secluded YFZ ranch in the midst of West Texas oil country. Ezra Draper testified Jeffs told him it would be better to lose one part of his body rather than suffer eternal damnation for liking a 14-year old girl at the YFZ compound.
Jeffs hired and fired seven lawyers during his tumultuous trial, although Judge Walther ordered defense attorneys Deric Walpole and Emily Detoto to represent Jeffs during the punishment phase of the trial.
Jeffs also read a letter purportedly from God ordering Judge Walther to dismiss all charges against him. The judge declined to do so.
Jeffs also said punishment would be unleashed upon the world if his prosecution continued. When his demands were not met he walked out of the courtroom under escort by law enforcement officials. Judge Walther informed him he had given up the right to represent himself when he left the building.
His two convictions for Sexual Assault of children were actually based on his two marriages to a 12-year old girl and a 15-year old girl.
A dramatic tape was played by Nichols for the jury which allegedly revealed Jeffs teaching one of his young wives about sexual intercourse.
Following his conviction and sentence, Jeffs went on a fast in his prison cell. As a result of his refusal to eat, his health deteriorated, and he was transferred to the University of Texas at Galveston Medical Branch which at the time treated prisoners of the Texas prison system. His life was saved there, and he was returned to the Powledge Unit.
There have been so many threats on his life, that he has his own cell for his safety.
His telephone privileges were once suspended when he gave a sermon to his 10,000 member congregation over speaker phones he had set up in prison.
For his work on the prosecution of the FLDS leaders Nichols was awarded the Lone Star Prosecutor Award by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.
It has been a rough week for FLDS sect leaders as Jeffs' appeal was denied at the same time a jury sentenced Wendell Nielsen to prison for bigamy for 10 years.
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Continue reading on Examiner.com Appeal of FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs denied in Texas - Wichita Falls Law Enforcement | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-wichita-falls/appeal-of-flds-polygamist-leader-warren-jeffs-denied-texas#ixzz1qkFjgfm4
Re: FLDS polygamist leader Warren Jeffs appeal denied
Having read a ton of books written by women who escaped from Warren Jeffs and the FLDS, him and a lot of the other men who reside as "patriarchs" are complete and total monsters. I'm glad he's not getting out any time soon.
my read shelf: