Elizabeth Smart Reuninted with Her Mother**picture***

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ^ | March 13, 2003 | Elizabeth Neff

[CatoRenasci]

Don't know any more, but back when I was in law school, Utah gave condemned prisoners their choice of hanging or the firing squad. There was a famous case (the name of which I don't recall :)) in which the condemned man chose hanging because he learned it would cost the state far more than simply shooting him.

[nicmarlo]

Her strength got her through this ordeal and her strength will help her heal

I agree; and I also hope the media leaves this family alone now....they need to for her to get well, emotionally.

[Illbay]

I just think that we have to wait and see what turns up.

In fact, we may not know anything until the trial transcripts start coming out.

[kcvl]

Polygamous Communities

Victims of Sexual Abuse Can Find Support


ABCNEWS.com

Feb. 28 — On 20/20 Sunday, John Quiñones speaks with women who say they were victims of sexual and physical abuse in polygamous communities.

A 16-year-old says she was brutally beaten when she attempted to flee. Others tell stories of being sexually assaulted by their fathers. One even says she was forced to marry her uncle — as his 15th wife.

“Probably the safest place for a pedophile is in the polygamist community,” a survivor tells Quinones.

“There’s just no intervention. And if it reaches the leaders [of the community], they never report it. It’s never reported.” admits Utah’s Attorney General Jan Graham, “We don’t know the full extent of domestic violence or sexual abuse in any [polygamous] community because it exists in a climate of secrecy.”

[Illbay]

Well, she's "gained weight" because she has GROWN.

She's at that age where they really SPROUT.

She just looks so darned good I could eat her whole! I'm SO HAPPY for that famlly! Who among us thought that this would ever have a happy ending?

Prayer works.

[Alouette]

Probably the safest place for a pedophile is in the polygamist community

And especially the polygamist community founded by a pedophile, aka THE RELIGION OF PEACE^TM

[Illbay]

“Probably the safest place for a pedophile is in the polygamist community,” a survivor tells Quinones.

It's strange that Mitchell didn't try to seek "safety in numbers." I hear he is virulently "anti-Mormon," but so are nearly all the polygamist cults.

[AppyPappy]

“Probably the safest place for a pedophile is in the polygamist community,” a survivor tells Quinones.

We had a local preacher who was a polygamist and that was certainly true. And his victim was 14. They like them young because they are more easily brainwashed.

[Catspaw]

Sadly, it's going to be a while before the media backs off. And Elizabeth will be spending her time being questioned by the police, then testifying in court. But just think! She's back with her family!

[AppyPappy]

I assumed the "gained weight" meant more fat. She was a skinny kid anyway. She looks the same only taller. I wonder who first uttered the phrase. I hope it wasn't her family. The girl has enough troubles without anyone noticing her weight.

[kcvl]

His ex-wife said that she has been trying to get the police to arrest him for 19 years because he is a pedophile.

[Illbay]

Best-case, she may not have to testify if they can just get the perps to cop a plea.

[Illbay]

Rumors abound in cases like this.

[Rubber_Duckie_27]

She looks genuinely happy (which I didn't think she did in those pictures that her family used on their website). I'm glad she's been found alive, and that she appears unharmed.

My fiance has a theory about why the news outlets are focusing so much on ES...it draws people's attention from an impending war. Yes, it is wonderful that she's alive and well, but this fact does not mean that she and her family should dominate the news for weeks. Let the kid have some time with her family before making her a media icon.

I don't know whether she wanted to run away or if this was a genuine kidnapping from the start...either way, I think she was quickly brainwashed by them. Those wackos she was with are creepy as heck...it's being suggested that she was either some kind of "wife" (VERY creepy) or a surrogate "daughter" for the two.

[AppyPappy]

I don't want to start a fight but was he anti-Mormon or anti-LDS? Polygamy is only practiced by Mormons outside the LDS structure (they consider it apostate) and the occaisonal whacko group.

[nicmarlo]

She's back with her family!

Yes, indeed; it's like her being born a second time.....but with wonderful memories and plans, to boot.

[Catspaw]

Oh, I hope they cop a plea, but I have a feeling one or both of them are going to try a "crazy" defense. She'd still have to be questioned by law enforcement (local, state, federal) extensively and would have to testify at the prelim. From what we've heard, she's a very cooperative witness with a vivid memory, but it's still traumatic.

Physically, she looks well, and she sure has grown (kids that age just sprout, don't they?), but she and her family have a lot of healing to do. And I do hope to hell that the copter I heard hovering over her house last night stopped so they could get some sleep.

[Sparky760]

This is a wonderful ending for this family and I can't imagine how relieved and happy they must be. At the risk of being flamed here, something needs to be focused on in this story after the exuberance settles down. This girls mother hired a "Bum" yes I said bum, not the PC term homeless, off the street to help her husband with some work in their home. Now I ask you, would you bring a bum off the street that you knew nothing about into your family's home?

[cake_crumb]

Read the story earlier this morning...just dropped by for a quick THANK HEAVEN SHE'S SAFE BUMP!!

The psycho that had her looks like an Orc or something.

[Illbay]

If the choppers don't stop, maybe Pres. Bush could authorize a little fly-by of some fighters?