Two Years Later, all that is left, is misinformation

Betty Jessop

The condition of journalism today, is largely a reflection of the condition of our own minds. Logic applied to this ABC News analysis would cost the writers their jobs, but it doesn't, because we have long since ceased to apply logic, as a society:

"Former members of the polygamist sect that was raided two years ago say they are encouraged by tough sentences handed down by courts in recent months, but said that the secretive group is as a strong as ever."

In one sentence, there is an internal contradiction that will be repeated in this story. Perhaps the writer is a fan of "synthesis," thinking we arrive at truth by merging contradictions. If so, the writer is so fuzzy on that blurry concept that they have lost track of even that distorted view of the truth.

How are you encouraged by "strong sentences" if they are not breaking the will of your enemy, but instead, seemingly, making them stronger? In addition, in a theme repeated by the hateful "Antis," the human sacrifice of example must be applied to an undeserving victim to advance their agenda.

Think.

If the sentences are extraordinarily harsh, and out of proportion with sentences handed down to other "sex offenders," then we have demanded of the "offender" that they pay more than they ought, for the sake of an agenda being advanced. We might as well throw someone into a volcano to appease some "god."

If the sentences are NOT extraordinarily harsh, then the hatred of the "Antis" is revealed again, because they cannot focus on the greater damage to society occurring every day with other sex offenders flying under the radar while former FLDS members revel and rejoice while their own special focuses of vitriol are roasted alive. The rest of the world and it's children can go to hell while they sit back and bask in the glowing fire of their enemies suffering.

"So far, four of the 12 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who were accused of child abuse have been convicted and sentenced to prison.

'These convictions are a really big deal. They're game changers and it's significant,' said Carolyn Jessop, who escaped from the FLDS sect in Colorado City, Ariz., seven years ago."

What, is this a book deal promotion? Carolyn Jessop "escaped?" Are we just reminding people what the title of her book is? Many people have "escaped" from the FLDS, as many as want to. "Escape" is a connotation laden word implying imprisonment, making a break for it, and "Getting Away" from pursuers.

The evidence says you can "walk away" from the FLDS, anytime you want to. The author of the story neglects to mention that Carolyn's own daughter Betty "escaped" from her and went back to FLDS.

" '(T)here is still a side to the FLDS that thinks they are invincible and that these trials are a joke and that if a few men go to prison for the cause, the group will still be fine,' said Jessop. The group burst into the national spotlight after the April 3, 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. People were stunned not only by the charges of polygamy and child brides, but because of the pastel prairie clothes, braided hairstyles and submissive attitude of the ranch's women."

One is tempted to simply allow their brain to leap out of their skull and start smashing itself into whatever wall there is available.

There is "Still a SIDE to the FLDS?" Um, Carolyn, how about "the whole group?" Pretty much it seems the "side" she speaks of is the vast majority of the FLDS. She seems to imply here that the FLDS is a divided group with a faction holding sway, when outward evidence suggests that the "factions" of the FLDS consist of a small rebellious minority that regularly leaves the group and then is stunned when no one follows, such as Carolyn, Elissa and Flora. By using these terms, and also having the writer repeat them without modification or observation of any kind, the writer is not being a reporter, but an advocate, mouthpiece and publicist for the "side" of the FLDS that pretty much isn't FLDS any longer.

Carolyn and the writer imply strongly that there is a "side" within the group still, that longs to be as she is. Except, in two years none of those "rescued" that needed to "escape" from the ranch, have taken advantage of their opportunity to "escape." They have in fact fought tooth and nail, to get back, like her own daughter Betty.

"Carolyn Jessop characterizes the recent 75-year prison sentence as 'unbelievable,' saying that the FLDS has believed for generations 'that they live above the law.' Even so, she says that unless the veil of secrecy that has long overshadowed the sect is lifted, the group will continue to thrive.

'If these men go to prison and don't say anything, [their convictions] might not have any impact on the group,' she said. 'The only way I can see it having a profound impact is if someone is willing to talk for a reduced sentence.' "

And here Carolyn's hateful motivations and immorality are made clear. She's part of a group that wishes to use long prison sentences to extort information from the convicted.

"Keep Convicting Them," she is saying, "Keep Sentencing Them to LIFELONG TORMENT (until someone talks)."

I hate to break it to Carolyn, but if you truly believe that the Path to Heaven and Place in the Afterlife is along the lines that the FLDS believe it to be, this would be the equivalent of selling your soul for Raymond, Merril Allen Keate or Michael Emack. Would you indeed trade your immortal soul for relief in this life? 35 or less of your remaining years on this earth, for an eternity in Torment?

"[The sect] depends on secrecy," she said. "The minute the secrecy is taken away, then the crimes will have to be prosecuted."

"These men know what is going on at that ranch and in the entire community and they've witnessed the worst," she added.

Carolyn Jessop

Yup, that's it. They're the Nazi's that imprison her people who long to be let go from their concentration camp. They should be subjected to increasing torments, until someone confesses.

What's next Carolyn? Do you want to send them all to some CIA torture camp outside the country to be waterboarded until they give it up?

"Mary Mackert, another former FLDS member who left the group and her six sister wives in 1984, agrees with Carolyn Jessop, and says that while the news of the convictions 'makes her smile,' she said there is much more to be done."

If you doubted me, simply read the above again. Mary Mackert "agrees" with Carolyn Jessop. What is her attitude? The extraordinary punishments of the FLDS members convicted so far "make her smile."

For them, the ends justify the means:

"Both Mackert and Jessop said the investigation of the Yearning For Zion Ranch in 2008 was successful in that it brought light to the crimes the members allegedly commit, but said it failed in terms of the children."

And for the FLDS? I have a point to make, when you don't tell your side of the story loudly enough, the revisionism takes full hold, and today's writers, who don't research their stories, repeat lies:

"In the days following the raid, 439 children were taken from their parents and put into foster care, running up a tab for the state of Texas that exceeded $12 million in just 2009. Legal fees since then have not been calculated. All but one child has since been returned to the ranch."

This gives the impression that Texas still holds Merrianne Jessop.

"It broke my heart to see the judge turn those children back," said Mackert.

I suppose we should care about Mary's heart, far away in Idaho, about kids that aren't hers, as opposed to the parent's hearts, in Texas, with relation to kids that ARE theirs. To say nothing of the kids themselves.

And now, another one of those contradiction laden passages:

"Jessop also questioned why the children were returned.

'When the state went in and took the kids, I thought once they interfered they had an obligation to follow through. They had an obligation and not just put the kids back in it and close their eyes. That to me was completely betrayal for these children,' she said.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services declined to comment for this story. In previous media accounts, the agency has defended the raid and has said they would do it again if they received more reports of child abuse. The children were returned to the ranch due to a lack of evidence of abuse to those children.

'Because the state dropped the ball on the kids, the FLDS community was very much strengthened because inside, they feel like the sky is the limit and they're untouchable,' said Carolyn Jessop, who still communicates with sect members, including family members."

The state defends the raid, Carolyn thinks they dropped the ball, but the CHILDREN were returned because there was a LACK of EVIDENCE of ABUSE to those children.

Carolyn is again held up as some sort of expert on internal FLDS workings, and the state has listened to her with regard to what happens there, and given her almost all she wishes in terms of pressure applied the FLDS, and they haven't cracked.

Wise up Carolyn, you said it yourself: "The FLDS community is very much strengthened." Wait for it though, she's not through contradicting herself.

"(Mary and Carolyn) say that while they will never stop talking about their own experiences, current FDLS members are the ones that really have the power to end what they call a life of 'emotional and physical torture.'

'The people at the top [in the sect] are nervous,' said Jessop. 'They don't admit it to a lot of people, but they are.'

'How could they not be nervous?' echoed Mackert. 'It's becoming a reality that they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars.' "

Yup, the emotional abuse and torture Carolyn's own daughter couldn't wait to subject herself to again. The emotional abuse and torture that Mary and Carolyn seemed trapped in for the rest of their own lives.

Get over it gals.

It's over. I have an ex. I lost everything. Kids and all. I don't spend any more time than is absolutely necessary thinking about her. It only hurts me and if I'm really unlucky, everyone around me when I can't zip my lip about it. Don't be such losers.

In my experience, a good deal of ex wives are like suicides. They leave a marriage, they kill it, and then they hang around to see if their ex, got the message. Finally.

"Think I'm gonna kill myself, cause a little suicide, stick around for a couple of days, what a scandal if I died.

Yeah, I'm gonna kill myself, get a little headline news. I'd like to see what the papers say..." (Bernie Taupin)

Unfortunately, for those of us left behind, the ghosts of divorce are all too real. Carolyn and Mary still want the attention, and are going to hairlip the devil to get it.

It is also true that Mary and Carolyn seem to be engaging in a little wishful thinking. The leaders are "nervous." Of course, she has no actual communication with them to know this, but, they're nervous. Aren't they? They'd have to be. Wouldn't they?

Stunningly, or perhaps really not so stunningly, the "unpersoning" (damnatio memoriae) of Rozita Swinton is now complete. In not one place in this story is she mentioned. In the popular retelling we'll just keep applying a little makeup to that "unsightly area" until it is gone altogether.

Rozita Swinton, Babysitting, Thanksgiving 2008, Burley ID

I did do the follow up on Rozita's Douglas County probation violation. Her probation officer was persuaded to not file a report against her, alleging violation of her previous conviction's terms of probation in Douglas County. She was "granted a new trial," the charges were dropped, and the whole matter went away.

Just like David Foley said it would happen. Except he left out a few nasty details, like she'd been convicted before, and than some major arm twisting went on to get the new trial, dropped charge and eventual vaporizing of Rozita's previous crime to that of the El Paso county conviction.

David Foley has also said that Texas has agreed to drop the charges against Rozita. I believe him even though Texas denies it.

But Carolyn and Mary hang around. Rozita and the real causes behind YFZ fade into the sunset and diminish. And ABC news retells the story, until we get it "right."

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Sentences Harsh - YA THINK?

We go much closer to home to see the latest sentencing silliness as the San Angelo Standard - Times asks "Were these sentences too harsh?"

"On Thursday, 32-year-old Daniel Ozuna was sentenced to life in prison by 391st District Court Judge Tom Gossett for indecency with a 7-year-old child by sexual contact. Ozuna already was serving a 5-year sentence for a similar crime.

Lesser sentences can come from situations when there is not a large age gap, such as between a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old person, Morris said.

Morris also said that if the parties consented, the sentence may be more lenient, even though consent is no defense for the guilt-innocence phase of the trial.

'It’s not a defense, but it’s certainly something (jurors) can consider in punishment,' (Gerry) Morris said."

And what is this business about "consent?" While we have seen stories written over the last two years about "what the child wants" from the "ad litem" perspective and what children cannot consent to, suddenly, it seems we have two "consents" now. The consent that a child cannot give, on which the whole "sexual assault of a CHILD" is based, and then the fact that, "oh, yeah, they gave their consent," meaning they gave every indication in language and body that they granted consent, except, they weren't old enough for those words to mean anything.

What incredible hypocrisy. Are we to believe now that chilren actually possess a "consent" that should be considered and a lawyer can now argue that the kid "loved it" and that is a reason to go easy on the perpetrator? First we base the law on the idea that a "child" is a person below a certain age, and that a "child" cannot give "consent."

How about the fact that Mr. Ozuna was already serving a 5 year sentence for a similar crime? Similar in my mind means another child in the single digit age category for which Mr. Ozuna was sentenced to only FIVE YEARS.

And now the point your Modern Pharisee has been making for two years about polygamy and "sexual assault" of "children:"

"The penalty becomes a first-degree felony if the defendant is legally prohibited from marrying, purporting to marry or living with someone under the appearance of being married.

A first-degree felony is punishable with five to 99 years or life in prison and the fine of up to $10,000."

Why then was Lauren Cosgrove not charged and sentenced as a 1st degree felon? Lauren was "legally prohibited from marrying" her 13 year old victim, not because Texas prevents 13 year olds from marrying 30 year olds but because she was married already." Her lawyer, in case you forget, argued that her 13 year old victim "wanted it" and got standing with his peers for bedding an older woman and in this age of equal rights, that "it's different for boys than it is for girls."

The polygamy of the FLDS involving children is not wrong because it involves children. Clearly, even the law recognizes (though seldom fairly applies) the fact that adults can marry "children." The law further declares that "children" magically gain the intelligence to give consent, once they have been legally married.

Kid without a marriage certificate? = Can't give consent.

Kid WITH a marriage certificate? = Can consent to any act with anyone.

Difference? A piece of paper. Basically, the equivalent of a car registration. A point your Modern Pharisee has also made.

Thus the case can be made that it's POLYGAMY they're after, not really "sexual abuse of a child," because if it wasn't polygamy they were after, it would be legal, and a polygamist could legally marry the "child" they were "assaulting" and produce the appropriate papers necessary not to go to jail for life. If it wasn't polygamy they were after, Janet Parker would be in jail right now, and so would Rebecca Ann Bramlett. If you want to "do it" with a 14 year old. Go get a piece of paper.

How sick is it that you can marry the 14 year old girl and have an affair with a 30 year old and nothing happens, but if you are married to the 30 year old and have an affair with at 15 year old, you go to jail for life?

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I guess she wasn't exactly hiding it...

Rebecca Ann Bramlett (120lbs, dark hair, green eyes, 5'4", pretty fetching mug shot, hmmm?) was driving her lover home the last weekend of April 2008 with the news of YFZ still ringing in everyone's ears.

"The Houston Chronicle - The investigation began when (Ms. Bramlett) was pulled over on a minor traffic stop about 1:40 a.m. Saturday (April 26th, 2008), Brady said.

When the deputy began talking to Bramlett, she said, 'we are having an affair and I am taking him home,' (Fort Bend County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Craig) Brady said."

This could be the proverbial case of "please stop me before I screw a kid again." After all, she did just up and say it. One wonders if she clapped her hand over her mouth and said "whoopsies" afterward.

Probable cause? Check. Ms. Bramlett was stopped for a traffic violation.

Extant circumstance? Check. Ms. Bramlett blurted out her crime. Only the age of her alleged victim was not specifically disclosed, at least in the dialogue as it is presented to us.

So, tried, convicted, off to the big house, right?

Nah. At least it has not been reported as such. But if you go to the Texas Sex Offenders registry, you will find her there. She's out and about, convicted (plea bargained to) a violation of "TX:11990002, Sexual Assault (of a) Child, Attempt to commit."

Wait, didn't she say they were having an affair?

She got.....

(Wait for it.)

NO PROBATION. She is required to report annually and is on the sex offender registry until 2026.

Ms. Bramlett (who resigned in between her arrest and the reporting of the story) was a middle school teacher, and her victim was probably a student of hers, at least at one time, and was 16 at the time of her conviction.

Ms. Bramlett has successfully stayed out of the news since the incident. She didn't get 33 years, or 75, or 7. Is this because she didn't hide the act? Has she since interfered with witnesses as Lauren Cosgrove did? Inquiring minds want to know, and your Modern Pharisee, has (at least some of) the answers.

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It was Witness Interference, and "Bad Acts"

That got the book thrown at a sex predator in Texas. Even though the victim "enjoyed it."

The Denton Record-Chronicle - "Lauren Cosgrove, 30 (now 31), of Sanger, also was sentenced to two years in prison on a charge of tampering with a witness. Though she had been court-ordered not to contact the boy, he testified that she picked him up outside his house in December 2008 and convinced him to write a letter saying he lied about what happened between them.

She also gave him a handwritten note professing undying love for him.

The sentences will be served at the same time, and Cosgrove will be eligible for parole in 2 1/2 years.

The jury also found her not guilty on a charge of indecency with a child."

Five years. Yup, divide 5 into 75 for a predator that tampers with a witness. Hmmm, if you are a man that means you will serve 15 times as long.

I'm sure you're asking with YFZ a year old and that scandal fresh in their minds if the prosecutor and jury took that into account:

"Prosecutors Rick Daniel and Cary Piel were satisfied with the sentence, Piel said.

'I asked the jurors in voire dire about the double standard,' Piel said. 'Who’s to say if this had been a man and a 13-year-old girl he would have gotten more time? But we are absolutely satisfied.' "

We can now answer that question. There are apparently several differences between YFZ and Ms. Cosgrove's case. One of them wasn't her marital state.

Apparently to get 15 times the sentence your victim must be older (Ms. Cosgrove's prey is still a minor) and now an adult. Ms. Cosgrove's target was 13.

There must be an element of religion. Free standing sexual abuse by a woman in power over a minor male child is no threat to us, though it appears to occur frequently in Texas. You must add the potent element of a closed society trying to preserve a religion the Government wants to stamp out.

To get 15 times the sentence your case must be higher profile. Texas gets embarrassed when attention is called to it's laxity over sexual assault of a child. The jury pool must be tainted with false claims of things that never happened at YFZ so that when they try you, they stop short of killing you only because that punishment is not available to them.

To get 15 times the sentence, your victim must be female.

"(Defense Attorney Donna)Winfield told jurors that if given probation, Cosgrove would not be a risk, and that the boy enjoyed the attentions of an older woman and was not traumatized.

'It’s different with boys and girls,' she said. 'I don’t believe he’s going to be scarred for life.'

Translation - "Oh come on people, we're putting a woman in jail for giving a 13 year old boy bragging rights around the neighbor hood, he's now a certified STUD. She ROCKED HIS WORLD. He's totally DIGGING on her."

Your victim must now be an adult, so that you can threaten her. That way she won't speak her mind during the trial in her husband's defense.

You have to be a polygynist.

The floor is open to discuss other differences that must be present for you to get 75 years, like Merril Leroy Jessop.

If you've spotted other differences, feel free to comment.

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75 Years for Merril Leroy Jessop

It's like they're squaring the sentences as they go.

The Salt Lake Tribune - "The sentence for Merril Leroy Jessop, 35, is the stiffest yet handed out in the criminal trials of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Under Texas law, Jessop has to serve half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole."

FLDS men "marry" (albeit not legally) the girls they "assault," love them and their children and take care of them for life. Merril is going to die in prison unless appeals succeed while the manifestly perverse Janet Parker walks among us. Her joke of a sentence didn't even make the news. Sandra Borrego pled guilty to 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a child for whom there was a complaint, and got 6 months (that she has already served) with a chance to clear her record.

75 years. Contrast that with the three cases the Modern Pharisee has highlighted over the last few days. Zero time, 6 months, and do you want to bet that Alison Mosbeck will get off lightly by comparison? (UPDATE-a fourth woman's attorney claimed her 13 year old victim "enjoyed it" and her client got 5 years. She also engaged in witness tampering.)

The $10,000.00 fine is a joke that only hurts the woman and the children that Texas is supposedly protecting from him.

My only question at this point is, when will the FLDS pull out all the stops and try everything legal? If the appeal doesn't work, these men will die in jail and their children will be scarred for life, if they aren't already. Their wives will be deprived of consort, of the children that the FLDS believe give them standing in the next life.

Make no mistake, if it was an option, they would have stuffed Merril Leroy Jessop's genitals in his mouth and hung his lifeless body from the tallest local church.

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You think the wheels of justice turn slowly for the FLDS?

Consider the case of Alison Mosbeck. The then 33-year-old history teacher at Dueitt Middle School (now 35 or 36) and mother of two (no word on children in the intervening time period) resigned October 29th, 2007, the same day she appeared in court on charges of having sexual relations with a boy who is still a minor. Previously Ms. Mosbeck had been on "administrative leave."

The Houston Chronicle - "(Harris County Assistant District Attorney & Crimes Against Children Division Chief Denise) Oncken said Mosbeck allegedly had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student between fall 2006 and March 2007. They had intercourse at least three times, prosecutors said."

The "alleged" crime originally occurred in late 2006, after the crime committed on or about August 20th 2006 that Merril Leroy Jessop is being sentenced for. Merril's "victim" is now and adult and had to be considered a "hostile" witness for the prosecution, so much so that they had to collect DNA against the will of all involved to come up with the charge and successful prosecution of Mr. Jessop. I emphasize that Ms. Mosbeck's alleged victim is still a minor.

Alison will finally go on trial next month. Since that time it would appear that Ms. Oncken has been promoted and now John Jordan will be prosecuting the case. If prior cases mentioned here at the Modern Pharisee are any predictor of outcome, after her trial, Ms. Mosbeck will serve a fraction of the time that Michael Emack "plea bargained" to get.

"If convicted, Mosbeck, a mother of two children, faces a possible sentence ranging from two years to 20 years for each case, Oncken said. She also is eligible for probation, Oncken added."

It looked like, at the time, that Harris County Assistant District Attorney Denise Oncken was open to the idea of probation.

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "Today at 9 a.m. the jurors will hear closing arguments and deliberate on Jessop’s sentence."

I suspect they will be sending another "message."

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Caught RED HANDED, Texas Sex Predator gets "Deferred Probation"

And very little publicity even though there are graphic pictures documenting her escapades. While the initial article suggested salacious acts reminiscent of oval office escapades with a cigar, the aftermath was quite different.

From Nacogdoches, the Oldest Town in Texas:

The Daily Sentinel - "Twenty-six-year-old Janet Parker surrendered to sheriff's officials at 11 a.m. Wednesday. According to a press release from Shelby County District Attorney Lynda K. Russell, her office and the sheriff's office were first alerted to an inappropriate teacher/student relationship in December. 'The matter was investigated, and although authorities felt inappropriate behavior existed, no proof could be established,' the release said.

'Two weeks ago, suspicions of this relationship again surfaced when a student's cell phone was taken up during school. Because the screen saver picture on the phone depicted behavior unacceptable at school (a student with a tobacco product), authorities at school searched the phone further. The phone was turned over to the district attorney's office. A search warrant was executed on the phone, allowing a forensic expert to search the phone. An inappropriate picture of Janet Parker was found on the cell phone. This phone belonged to the same student with whom Parker was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship last December,' the release said.

Because of the nature of this picture D.A. Russell and Sheriff Johnson requested a warrant for the search of Parker's home. Assisting in executing the search warrant were Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy Desmond McDaniel, Texas Ranger Tom Davis, and D.A. Investigator Danny Green. Evidence gathered at the scene confirmed that the picture of Parker on the child's cell phone was taken in her home. In cases like this, computers are commonly used to store images of inappropriate behavior and communications between parties which sometimes reveal the type of relationship between the parties. As a result, two computers were gathered as possible evidence. A forensic search was conducted of the computers, and as a result of the searches on the computers and the investigation into this matter, 23 warrants have been issued for the arrest of Janet Parker - (9 warrants for sexual performance by a child , three warrants for sexual assault of a child and 11 warrants for possession of child pornography third-degree felony)."

Repeated searches of the web yeilded no information on the trial result. Probably because there was no trial. When contacted, District Attorney Linda Kay Russell's office stated that Ms. Parker received "10 years of deferred probation." I'm not sure what that means, but if it's anything like deferred sentencing, Ms. Parker pled guilty and then got a "deferred" arrangement meaning she's not even being supervised. "Just stay out of trouble" would be the operative phrase, and in ten years she can apply to have her record cleaned.

It would seem that Ms. Parker is being treated as a "first time offender" and not having the book thrown at her. In the meantime, defendants like Merril Leroy Jessop, Michael Emack, Allan Keate and Raymond Jessop are having the book thrown at them as if they were "repeat offenders." It would also appear that just like the ranch was "one residence," FLDS offenders are being treated as one defendant. The sentences are getting worse.

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UPDATED - Guilty of Sexual Assault of a Child, Texas Sex Predator gets 6 Months

Yup, only 6 months and a chance to wipe her slate clean:

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times - "A former dance teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student pleaded guilty Tuesday in exchange for probation, six months in jail and the opportunity to avoid a conviction.

Sandra Borrego’s guilty plea came shortly before jury selection was to start Tuesday morning. She pleaded guilty to 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child."

What hypocrites Texans are. Michael Emack got 33 years, a virtual life sentence. I shudder to think what Merril is going to get. The age difference between Sandra and her young victim is greater than that of Merril and his bride. Sandra is 41, the boy she "assaulted," barely a teen.

By the way, they say they don't believe me, but they do. (Rise to the bait little fishy.)

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Jessop Guilty! (in time for lunch)

Like I said, it wouldn't take long.

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "(Merril Leroy Jessop) kept a pleasant face while 51st District Judge Barbara Walther read the jury statement and pronounced the word 'guilty.'

Jurors heard closing arguments this morning and left at 11:30 a.m. to deliberate.

Attorneys were summoned back to the courtroom at 12:30 p.m. upon hearing that the jury had reached their verdict."

It was never one of my favorite songs, but it does keep going through my head:

"And the judge said, 'Guilty,' in a make-believe trial, slapped the Sheriff on the back with a smile (and said) 'Supper's waitin' at home and I gotta get to it.' "

Bobby Russell - "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia."

Brooke Adams has "Tweeted" that the "enhancement" was voted to apply, and thus Merril faces 99 years in prison.

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Case goes to Jury, Location continues to be an issue (UPDATED)

Both sides have rested their cases. (UPDATED- VERDICT = GUILTY).

The Abilene Reporter-News - "The jury will return at 9:30 a.m. today to hear closing arguments from the defense and prosecution, and then jurors will deliberate on the verdict.

Attorneys and 51st District Judge Barbara Walther had spent the day looking at documents to establish Jessop was at the YFZ Ranch at the time of the alleged offense."

Apparently, more that in the other cases, the location of Merril is in doubt. Most of the silence coming out of San Angelo yesterday has to do with the Judge, Prosecution and Defense looking at documents.

The way this story is phrased, is puzzling. I would have thought that if there was any doubt, the defense would have speculated loudly in open court to the effect that the prosecution "couldn't prove it," "it" being where Mr. Jessop was. Much has been made in the past among FLDS detractors that location wasn't an issue, but it now seems hugely clear, that it is.

Do I think this will matter? Not really. It would seem that the defense is relying on Judge Walther to rule to dismiss charges if there is clear evidence that Merril was not there. Walther, I am convinced, would rule that Merril Jessop was there even if he had time stamped pictures sent by certified letter from Kenya showing that he was there hunting Water Buffalo around and about August 20th, 2006.

The FLDS has been all along, stacking issues up for appeal, both thin and strong. Essentially the strategy is to impeach Walther and/or the evidence later with minor emphasis on things like Grand Jury/Jury racial composition.

The case has gone to the jury. I'm not holding out any hope for Walther ruling Merril (and therefore his "underage bride") weren't in Texas during conception. I wouldn't be surprised if the jury returns before lunch, with a guilty verdict (turned out to be 12:30pm).

According to KCSG's 9:49 AM EDT version of the story, closing arguments will be today and are probably are taking up a good portion of the morning if not all of it.

"The prosecution and defense rested their cases Tuesday in the trial of Merril Leroy Jessop. The jury (returned this) morning to hear closing arguments from the defense and prosecution, and then jurors will deliberate on the verdict."

Judge Walther did not allow a CPS worker to testify in front of the jury regarding the level of fear that had been created among the FLDS. A CPS worker testified away from the jury about how children were taken from their mothers.

If the testimony is emotionally loaded in favor of the prosecutions case, such as testimony from Rebecca Musser, the Jury hears it, if it is loaded in favor of the defendant. (You guessed it!)

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Rangers obtained records looking for Rozita?

According to Texas Ranger Don Williams; "I thought it was very possible someone might be in that vault."

This is interesting. Texas Rangers busted into the FLDS Church Vault looking for a PERSON. Hadn't we discussed this two years ago? What "hat" was being worn by Texas Rangers?

The San Angelo Standard-Times - " 'Would you say the men and women were distrustful?' (Defense Attorney Brandon) Hudson said.

Williams said they were.

Williams said the locksmith took hours to open the vault door.

Hudson pointed out the damage done to the framing around the side of the vault.

'Were there attempts to enter without having to break the locks?' Wes Mau, one of the prosecuting attorneys, asked.

'Yes sir,' Williams said, and he said the residents were not cooperative with opening the safe. 'I thought it was very possible someone might be in that vault.' "

Back to the Standard-Times, April 10th, 2008:

"In one exchange, (Judge Barbara) Walther questioned (Gerry) Goldstein on why he claimed Lyle Jeffs had standing to challenge the search warrant based on the removal of his two children.

'The removal of the children had nothing to do with the search warrant,' Walther said. 'That's a civil matter.'

'I'm not sure they knew what hat they were wearing' when officials removed the children, Goldstein replied."

I'd say at this point they didn't know. Later, when sorting out details in the aftermath, it seems clear that Rangers retroactively threw a hat into the narrative, based on what it was they'd need, to cover their actions. In the case of the Vault, they're not in a residence looking for anyone, they're in the temple. These records are obtained looking for "Sarah," who we now know to be Rozita Swinton. Not that Texas dares ever ask that question, of Rozita.

Something tells me this might be important. If Law Enforcement was treating the ranch as "one residence," clearly the temple is not a "residence" and clearly a "gun safe" or cabinet inside a vault inside a church is not a home. At what point to you stop looking? Can I go into the White House looking for a murder suspect in Washington DC and come out with evidence of the "Cornhusker Kickback?" Can you go into a church on a warrant based on a residence? Can you go in their vault because someone might be in there? Do you open shoeboxes looking for body parts? Ranger Williams says he goes into the vault looking for a person, but that's not what they come out with. It seems rather clear that Rangers wanted anything belonging to any member of the FLDS or the church, so that they could audit them for evidence of crimes. Is this the case Brandon Hudson is building?

"Hudson noted that the person they were searching for was never found, and the call that led to the April 2008 raid on the ranch was determined to be a hoax call from a woman who claimed to have been abused and living on the ranch."

The "hoax" call remark seems to have gone unchallenged by the defense. I'm sure the prosecution had to let that stand, since if they did not, the issue of it being a hoax could have spilled out into open court. So it's official. Texas regards the call as a hoax.

"Another Texas Ranger, Jesse Valdez, testified about having entered a vault in another building called the temple annex.

A picture showed the jury an open vault door with a small hole less than three feet wide breaching a concrete wall several inches thick.

'I removed all my outer clothing and entered with a flash light and a pistol, unsure of what I would encounter,' Valdez said.

Inside the vault, law enforcement personnel found many cabinets full of boxes of personal and church records."

What did this "Drama Queen" expect to find in a vault? Why didn't he wait? Was there a sense of "urgency" that perhaps at any moment the search might be called off and they didn't have all their "loot" yet? What does he expect to find in the dark that he needs a pistol for? I don't know about you, but if I was planning to used deadly force against a Ranger entering a vault with no clothes, a flashlight leading the way and a pistol, the pistol isn't going to do him any good.

If I were the Ranger, and I thought I might NEED the pistol once inside the valut, I'm not going in that way. It's a death sentence. I might pump some tear gas in there first, but no way I'm crawling headfirst with a pistol and a flashlight into a dark hole, particularly when there's only one way out.

To this day I do not know why the FLDS don't call Rozita as a witness.

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Location, Location, Location.

It's the Real Estate maxim, and apparently it does matter in the Trial of Merril Leroy Jessop.

When an act is a crime in one place, but not in another, where it happened really does matter.

For instance, it's not a crime for me to be nude, and I am nude every day in the shower. It is one for me to be nude on Main Street. Unless my shower is in my RV and my RV is on Main Street. Likewise it is important where the child that is almost certainly Merril's, was conceived.

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "(Prosecutors) presented evidence that Merril Leroy Jessop resided at the Yearning For Zion Ranch outside Eldorado, where the charge against him — the sexual assault of a child in connection with an alleged underage marriage — was alleged to have occurred.

Pictures showed photo albums and poster-sized pictures that depicted Jessop surrounded by a crowd of children and three young women law enforcement personnel identified as his wives."

Well dang. I thought that wasn't important according to some of the "legal experts" trumpeting how irrelevant location was on the other side of the fence, but apparently, it is important.

It's always been my thought that it was up to Texas to place Merril's "celestial wife" on Eldorado Terra Firma and Merril there too, to make the case stick. That goes for Michael Emack as well, and Raymond Jessop. This salient point didn't seem to figure much in the first trials, but is now making an appearance here, at Merril Jessop's trial, as part of the prosecution's case.

Odd.

Do they know that Merril will try to contend he was elsewhere? To me it has always seemed that I could say, if I were Merril; "How do you know we weren't in Mexico?" After all, no one knows how they got to Mexico and it's not up to Merill to prove his innocence, he is presumed innocent, nor is it up to Merril to incriminate himself. The fact that Texas thinks Merril robbed a bank, but can't say which bank is sort of important.

Don't get confused with the idea that his wife is the bank. She has to be in Texas for it to be a crime, in Texas. If I admit to taking money from a bank, I haven't admitted to robbing it. If I admit to nudity, I don't admit to a crime. If I say I drive my car 200mph, if I did it at Daytona International Speedway, it's not a problem.

There are various considerations such as the "Mann Act," but that's where self incrimination and presumed innocence come in. I'm presumed NOT to have committed a crime, and frankly, as far as the jury knows Merril really conceived a child with his bride at a sort of FLDS "girls gone wild" event on the Yucatan peninsula. She went there, he went there, they meet, the lights go down and so on.

Do I believe that? Well heck no, but it's not up to Merril to have to prove that. For it to be a crime in Texas, it had to happen in Texas. For it to be a "Mann Act" violation, a conspiracy has to be proven. This is not possible without receipts and photographs and cooperative eyewitness testimony. In some places it is still just "bad judgment" to engage in a sex act with a 16 year old, whether it should be or not.

Do I think it will matter to the jury? Nah. A little girl was "assaulted" with an old man's phallus while she cowered in fear of it's mighty and damaging blows. And it had MORE WRINKLES than the 16 year old boy she could have rubbed uglies with, with impugnity.

The jury would kill Merril if they could.

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A Jury Seated

And typically, another motion denied.

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "The jury is made up of seven women and seven men to fill in the 12 juror and two alternate positions. Among the jurors, three have Hispanic surnames."

The defense cited widespread publicity and resulting prejudice. They asked for more "peremptory strikes." What do you think happened? Don't be stupid, it's Babs.

"(D)efense attorneys this morning moved to be granted more than the standard 10 peremptory strikes against prospective jurors, citing widespread prejudice against their client, but 51st District Judge Barbara Walther denied the motion."

Arguments are underway.

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Merril Jessop moves for Mistrial - UPDATED

It won't work. (UPDATE, it didn't.) Not because it shouldn't work, but because it's Barbara Walther on the bench.

This is part of the basic plea of the prosecution that the FLDS is a dangerous murderous entity and we are dealing with "King Willie, the Thug."

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "Willie Jessop, the sole representative of Merril Leroy Jessop’s family and church, was denied entry to a crowded courtroom (yesterday).

Willie Jessop said the motion, although prepared and signed Monday, was submitted (today)."

No it won't work now, but this continues to be the sort of foundation you build for an appeal. It sounds as if the FLDS was ready for this prosecution piece of theater that is purely designed to make various FLDS men "boogie men" and therefore increase chances of conviction.

Apparently in ruling on the motion (which she denied), our lovable warm fuzzy "Thug" got a word in edgewise:

"(Eric) Nichols, arguing against the motion, put Willie Jessop on the witness stand and made the case that Willie Jessop hadn’t made an attempt to enter after the general questioning of potential jurors.

'At what point would it have been appropriate to enter again?' Willie Jessop shot at Nichols.

Walther intervened, telling Willie Jessop — who she said may not be fully aware of the court’s procedures — that the witness is not allowed to ask questions."

Raymond Jessop (as is being reported elsewhere) has already filed for appeal, but your Modern Pharisee told you it was done, when it was done (January 28th, 2010).

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You Talkin' to ME? (slightly updated)

I can't resist. Is Eric Nichols talking, to ME?

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "The prosecution spearheaded by Eric Nichols argued for a motion that would prevent the defense from doing certain things without approaching the bench.

One of the items regarded not allowing the defense to bring up media reports.

'This prevents lawyers from pulling up a newspaper article, magazine article or blog post,' Nichols said."

Since the Modern Pharisee has been the leading FLDS centric blog for the past year, occasionally swapping front runner status with Bill Medvecky, one has to assume that when Eric Nichols refers to blogs, he's referring to yours truly.

I accept.

LOL. Lemmings.










(I brought the inner tube.)

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