Never Mind on Bigamy

Callahan County Attorney Shane Deel boldly went where Texas fears to tread, or where other prosecutors feared to tread. Now it's just too much money, supposedly:

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram - "Two significant factors contributed to the decision to dismiss the bigamy charges, Deel said.

'First, the change of venue made the case financially impractical to try. Second, there were some substantial issues with the case and the statute of limitations,' Deel said.

'While we literally have a mountain of evidence against Yisrayl Hawkins in relation to these cases, most of it dates back to before 2005. At that time bigamy was a Class A misdemeanor with only a two-year limitations period,' he said. 'While I can make an argument about the continuing nature of the conduct, it is simply not worth the county's resources to pursue the case in Parker County with the necessary expenses that that will entail when the outcome is as uncertain as it is.' "

Blah, blah, blah.

Yisrayl Hawkins will serve 15 months probabtion after pleading "nolo" to violations of child labor laws along with paying a $2000.00 fine.

Your Modern Pharisee is no fan of Yisrayl, but after all of that noise, a $2000.00 fine and 15 months probation?

The Abilene Reporter-News - "John Young, one of Yisrayl Hawkins’ attorneys, said, 'Mr. Hawkins is relieved to have this over with. The outcome was not only fair, it was prudent. My client accepts responsibility for violating child labor laws, but we feel that under the circumstances, there was no factual basis in which a felony charges were appropriate.'

The Sweetwater attorney said the plea agreement saved taxpayers 'tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.'

'Mr. Hawkins' role with the church, and his role as a pastor will not be affected in any way as a result of the plea agreement,' Young said."

Hat tip to Christian or Biblical Polygamy. What does this portend for eventual bigamy prosecutions in the FLDS cases? They will probably be dropped as well. They're just window dressing.

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