Trial and conviction
The prosecution, led by Juab County Attorney David Leavitt, [4] [5] alleged that Green married teenagers, divorced them, and then collected the welfare payments they received as "single mothers" while he continued living with them. [1] Described as "Utah's first high-profile bigamy case in half a century," [1] Green's trial attracted substantial national attention [6] [7] [8] and some international media coverage. [9] His other wives also all refused to testify against him. [4]
On June 24, 2002, Green was convicted of child rape for having sex with 13-year-old Linda Kunz, who ultimately was his legal wife. Kunz, who refused to testify against Green at the trial, was born in 1972, and gave birth to her first child with Green in 1986. Green had four other wives and 35 children in all. Tom Green was sentenced to five years in prison for the first conviction, and five years to life in prison for the second conviction. While he was in jail, one of his wives reportedly left him and took their children with her. [10] Green was released from prison on parole on August 7, 2007. [11]
Polygamy was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families.
The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC) is a breakaway sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is headquartered in Manti, Utah, United States, where as of 2004 it maintained a membership of 300 to 500 adherents. The church maintains a meetinghouse in downtown Manti, and in the past also owned the Red Brick Store, also downtown.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. The fundamentalist Mormon movement emerged in the early 20th century, when its founding members were excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, largely because of their refusal to abandon the practice of plural marriage after it was renounced in the "Second Manifesto" (1904). The FLDS Church as a distinct group traces its origins to the 1950s in the Short Creek community, where the group is still based.
Mormon fundamentalism is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and John Taylor, the first three presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and practices no longer held by mainstream Mormons. The principle most often associated with Mormon fundamentalism is plural marriage, a form of polygyny first taught in the Latter Day Saint movement by the movement's founder, Smith. A second and closely associated principle is that of the United Order, a form of egalitarian communalism. Mormon fundamentalists believe that these and other principles were wrongly abandoned or changed by the LDS Church in its efforts to become reconciled with mainstream American society. Today, the LDS Church excommunicates any of its members who practice plural marriage or who otherwise closely associate themselves with Mormon fundamentalist practices.
Warren Steed Jeffs is an American religious leader who has been convicted of several sex crimes and two assisted sex crimes involving children. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 2011, he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault, for which he is serving a life sentence plus twenty years.
Bountiful is a settlement in the Creston Valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, near Cranbrook and Creston. The closest community is Lister, British Columbia.
The Poland Act of 1874 was an act of the US Congress that sought to facilitate prosecutions under the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act by eliminating the control members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exerted over the justice system of Utah Territory. Sponsored by US Representative Luke P. Poland of Vermont, the Act redefined the jurisdiction of Utah courts by giving the US district courts exclusive jurisdiction in Utah Territory over all civil and criminal cases. The Act also eliminated the territorial marshal and attorney and gave their duties to a US Marshal and a US Attorney. The Act also altered petit and grand jury empaneling rules to keep polygamists off juries. By removing Latter-day Saints from positions of authority in the Utah justice system, the Act was intended to allow for successful prosecutions of Mormon polygamists.
"Lost boys" is a term used for young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygamous Mormon fundamentalist groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Although sometimes officially accused of apostasy or disobedience, it is thought that they are mainly pressured to leave by older adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are between the ages of 13 and 21.
The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882, is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories, punishable by "a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and by imprisonment for a term of not more than five years". The act is named for U.S. Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont. The Edmunds Act also prohibited "bigamous" or "unlawful cohabitation", thus removing the need to prove that actual marriages had occurred. The act not only reinforced the 1862 Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act but also made the offense of unlawful cohabitation much easier to prove than polygamy misdemeanor and made it illegal for polygamists or cohabitants to vote, hold public office, or serve on juries in federal territories.
Polygamy czar is an informal title given to the "Investigator of Crimes within Closed Societies" for the Utah Attorney General's Office. The position was established by the Utah State Legislature in 2000. The office is responsible for investigating tax evasion, welfare fraud, child abuse, sex abuse, domestic violence and other crimes committed within Fundamentalist Mormon communities that practice plural marriage. Ron Barton, Utah's first polygamy czar, contributed to the prosecutions of polygamists Rodney Holm and Tom Green on child rape and bigamy charges.
The Short Creek raid was an Arizona Department of Public Safety and Arizona National Guard action against Mormon fundamentalists that took place on the morning of July 26, 1953, at Short Creek, Arizona. The Short Creek raid was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history. At the time, it was described as "the largest mass arrest of men and women in modern American history."
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse. Specifically, polygyny is the practice of one man taking more than one wife while polyandry is the practice of one woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common marriage pattern in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continent's colonization by Europeans.
Merril Jessop was a high-ranking bishop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the FLDS Church. He was briefly the de facto leader of the FLDS. Jessop was also in charge of the YFZ Ranch during the 2008 raid.
Possibly as early as the 1830s, followers of the Latter Day Saint movement, were practicing the doctrine of polygamy or "plural marriage". After the death of church founder Joseph Smith, the doctrine was officially announced in Utah Territory in 1852 by Mormon leader Brigham Young. The practice was attributed posthumously to Smith and it began among Mormons at large, principally in Utah where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had relocated after the Illinois Mormon War.
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, privately taught and practiced polygamy. After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms.
Dorothy Allred Solomon is an American author and educator committed to informing people about the pros and cons of polygamous lifestyles.
Irene Spencer was an American author and a widow of Verlan LeBaron, brother of former prophet Joel LeBaron of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, a fundamentalist Mormon offshoot.
Wendell Loy Nielsen was the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, replacing Warren Jeffs, at that time imprisoned on charges related to sexual assaults against minors.
Alma Adelbert "Del" Timpson, was an American Mormon fundamentalist leader. He was involved with a number of Mormon denominations, including the mainstream LDS Church, followed by the Council of Friends, and eventually heading the Centennial Park group, a fundamentalist sect headquartered in Centennial Park, Arizona. In each denomination he held positions of importance within the priesthood and leadership structures.
Susan Ray Schmidt is an American author, activist and lecturer, notable for her memoir and anti-polygamy activism.
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