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88-589: Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955) is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , a polygamous cult based in Arizona. The FLDS Church was founded in the early-20th century when its founders deemed the renunciation of polygamy by

176-525: A $ 60,000 reward. He was the 482nd fugitive placed on the list. The reward was soon raised to $ 100,000, and the public was warned that "Jeffs may travel with a number of loyal and armed bodyguards." On June 8, 2006, Jeffs returned to Colorado City to perform more "child-bride marriages." On May 27, 2008, The Smoking Gun website released images of Jeffs with two underage wives, one of whom was 12 years old, celebrating first wedding anniversaries in 2005 and 2006. On August 28, 2006, around 9 p.m. PDT, Jeffs

264-511: A Nevada court hearing on August 31, Jeffs waived any challenge to extradition and agreed to be returned to Utah to face two first-degree felony charges of accomplice rape. Each charge carries an indeterminate penalty of five years to life in prison. Arizona prosecutors were next in line to try Jeffs. He was held in the Washington County jail, pending an April 23, 2007 trial on two counts of rape, as an accomplice for his role in arranging

352-555: A biography focusing on life after leaving the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She has also founded the non-profit organization ClaimRED, an organization dedicated to those who have become victims of human trafficking . Actress Sabina Gadecki portrays Musser in the 2014 film Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs . Musser recounts her experiences in the 2022 Netflix documentary Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey , directed by Rachel Dretzin. After leaving

440-574: A child, for raping a 12-year-old child bride; for which he was sentenced to life in prison, plus twenty years, and fined $ 10,000. Jeffs is incarcerated at the Louis C. Powledge Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Palestine, Texas . Warren Steed Jeffs was born in Sacramento, California on December 3, 1955, to Rulon Jeffs (1909–2002) and Merilyn Steed (born circa 1935,

528-523: A claim of Jeff's incompetency, accusing the trust of being "understandably very fearful" about Jeffs's testimony since it is liable for his actions as the past president of the FLDS. Current FLDS members continue to consider Jeffs to be their leader and prophet who speaks to God and who has been wrongly convicted. Jeffs condemned same-sex marriage as being as evil as murder. Jeffs has also condemned interracial marriage and described Black people as being used by

616-450: A descendent of pioneer Thomas Joseph Steed ). Warren was born more than two months prematurely . Warren grew up outside of Salt Lake City, Utah . In 1976, the year he turned 21, Warren Jeffs became principal of Alta Academy, an FLDS private school at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon . He served as school principal for twenty years and was known for being "a stickler for the rules and for discipline." Warren's father Rulon Jeffs became

704-477: A designation given to the polygamous wives of one man in the FLDS. After Jeffs' death, Musser was told by Jeffs' son and new church leader Warren Jeffs that she needed to remarry. Warren threatened her with her life if she did not obey. Musser was able to escape the compound by scaling a wall which surrounded the house and slipping past Jeffs' armed guards. After her escape, Musser traveled to Oregon to live with her brother. Musser testified against Warren Jeffs

792-582: A fixed jail term of 20 years and thus changed it to a jail term to be served for the rest of the prisoner's remaining lifespan. The amended definition is applied to future crimes committed after 20 August 1997. Since Abdul Nasir committed the crime of kidnapping and was sentenced before 20 August 1997, his life sentence remained as a prison term of 20 years and thus he still had to serve 38 years behind bars. The appeal of Abdul Nasir, titled Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah v Public Prosecutor [1997] SGCA 38 ,

880-405: A home invasion robbery, possessing a firearm, and associating with persons engaged in criminal activity", and sentenced him to 15 years for the attempted armed robbery plus life imprisonment for the armed burglary. The life sentence Graham received meant he had a life sentence without the possibility of parole, "because Florida abolished their parole system in 2003". Graham's case was presented to

968-476: A life sentence may – after a successful application – be commuted to a fixed-term sentence, after which the offender is released as if the sentence served was that originally imposed. In many countries around the world, particularly in the Commonwealth , courts have been given the authority to pass prison terms that may amount to de facto life imprisonment, meaning that the sentence would last longer than

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1056-516: A marriage between a then-14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen. The young girl, Elissa Wall (then known as "Jane Doe IV," and the younger sister of Rebecca Wall), testified that she begged Rulon Jeffs to let her wait until she was older or choose another man for her. The elder Jeffs was apparently "sympathetic," but his son was not, and she was forced to go through with the marriage. Wall alleged that Allen often raped her and that she repeatedly miscarried . She eventually left Allen and

1144-462: A maximum term) can also be imposed, in certain countries, for traffic offences causing death. Life imprisonment is not used in all countries; Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, in 1884, and all other Portuguese-speaking countries also have maximum imprisonment lengths, as well as all Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas except for Cuba, Peru, Argentina, Chile and

1232-491: A new trial. The court found that the trial judge should have told the jury that Jeffs could not be convicted unless it could be proved that he intended for Elissa's husband to engage in nonconsensual sex with her. Elissa subsequently wrote an autobiography on her experiences in the FLDS Church and with Jeffs entitled Stolen Innocence. The book was co-authored with former New York Times journalist Lisa Pulitzer . Jeffs

1320-405: A polygamous family. At the time of her birth, Musser's father had two wives; his first wife was Myrna and his second was Sharon. Musser remembers her father being frustrated with only having two wives, as other men in the religion had many more. Lloyd had nine children with Myrna and 14 with Sharon. As Sharon was the second wife, she was lower in rank than Myrna; Sharon and her children lived in

1408-423: A positive welcome from The Today Show and was featured in their 'Today Books' section. The Witness Wore Red was also featured on NPR , Secular News Daily, and others. Publishers Weekly called the memoir a "harrowing account" of FLDS life. Musser is a member of Sheroes United, a non-profit organization that embraces female role models in communities. Musser is featured as a Shero on their website with

1496-525: A prisoner with no hope of being released ever, the prison has no means to discipline such convict effectively. A few countries allow for a minor to be given a life sentence without parole; these include but are not limited to: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (only over the age of 16), Australia, Belize, Brunei, Cuba, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and

1584-584: A rate of 50 people per 100,000 (1 out of 2,000) residents imprisoned for life. In several countries, life imprisonment has been effectively abolished. Many of the countries whose governments have abolished both life imprisonment and indefinite imprisonment have been culturally influenced or colonized by Spain or Portugal and have written such prohibitions into their current constitutional laws (including Portugal itself but not Spain). A number of European countries have abolished all forms of indefinite imprisonment. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina each set

1672-522: A terminal illness or a presidential pardon. In Albania, while no person sentenced to life imprisonment is eligible for standard parole, a conditional release is still possible if the prisoner is found not likely to re-offend and has displayed good behaviour, and has served at least 25 years. Before 2016 in the Netherlands , there was never a possibility of parole for any person sentenced to life imprisonment, and any form of release for life convicted in

1760-425: A total of 20 times and helped prosecutors to win 11 convictions against him. During one of the days testifying for the trial, she showed up in a sleeveless red dress. This was significant because the color red had previously been banned by Jeffs for all church members. Author Debra Weyermann stated, "As the wife of a former prophet, Rebecca had credibility compounded by her collected, steady, and unflappable demeanor in

1848-456: A year prior. Residents, however, told authorities that there was in fact no such girl, and the calls were ultimately traced to 33-year-old Rozita Swinton, totally unconnected to the FLDS Church, and known for repeated instances of filing false reports. Nevertheless, Texas authorities continued to investigate whether Swinton's claims were a hoax. The women and children who were suspected of being minors were returned after Texas courts established that

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1936-403: Is known as the doctrine of plural marriage in order to attain exaltation in the afterlife. Jeffs specifically taught that a devoted church member is expected to have at least three wives in order to get into heaven, and the more wives a man has, the closer he is to heaven. Before his 2006 arrest, Jeffs had last been seen on January 1, 2005, near Eldorado, Texas , at the dedication ceremony of

2024-429: Is never a possibility of parole for anyone sentenced to life imprisonment, as life imprisonment is defined as the "deprivation of liberty of the convict for the entire rest of his/her life". Where mercy is granted in relation to a person serving life imprisonment, imprisonment thereof must not be less than 30 years. In Ukraine , life imprisonment means for the rest of one's life with the only possibilities for release being

2112-591: Is set by the sentencing judge. In 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that sentencing minors to life without parole, automatically (as the result of a statute) or as the result of a judicial decision, for crimes other than intentional homicide, violated the Eighth Amendment 's ban on " Cruel and unusual punishments ", in the case of Graham v. Florida . Graham v. Florida

2200-414: Is still alive and in the next room." Within a week he had married all but two of his father's wives; one refused to marry Jeffs and was subsequently prohibited from ever marrying again, while the other, Rebecca Wall , fled the FLDS compound. Naomi Jessop, one of the first of Rulon's former wives to marry Jeffs, subsequently became his favorite wife and confidant. As the sole individual in the FLDS Church with

2288-427: Is up to the prison complex after 25 years have been served, and release eligibility depends on the prospect of rehabilitation and how likely they are to re-offend. In Europe, only Ukraine and Moldova explicitly exclude parole or any form of sentence commutation for life sentences in all cases. In South and Central America, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and

2376-565: The Criminal Code , at 25 years. A statutory amendment to allow periods of parole ineligibility greater than 25 years was held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Bissonnette (2022 SCC 23), as contrary to section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Parole eligibility for second degree murder typically varies between 10 and 25 years, and

2464-627: The Bountiful, British Columbia group of the FLDS Church. More than half of the Canadian branch members left the FLDS Church to stay with Blackmore as their leader, and Jeffs excommunicated Blackmore in September 2002. Following Rulon's death, Jeffs told the high-ranking FLDS officials, "I won't say much, but I will say this – hands off my father's wives." When addressing his father's widows he said, "You women will live as if Father

2552-709: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to be apostate . The LDS Church disavows any relation between it and the FLDS Church, although there are significant historical ties. In 2006, Jeffs was placed on the FBI 's Ten Most Wanted List for his flight from the charges that he had arranged illegal child marriages between his adult male followers and underage girls in Utah. In 2007, Arizona charged him with eight additional counts in two separate cases, including incest and sexual conduct with minors. In September 2007, Jeffs

2640-622: The Deseret News , Jeffs's attorneys made the following statements: "Mr. Jeffs has asked that the following statement be released to the media and to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:   Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of the Corporation of the President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Inc." The statement did not address his ecclesiastical position as prophet of

2728-558: The Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Sentences of life in prison without parole can still be given to juveniles for aggravated first-degree murder, as long as the judge considers the circumstances of the case. In 2016 the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Montgomery v. Louisiana that the rulings imposed by Miller v. Alabama were to apply retroactively, causing a substantial amount of appeals to decade-old sentences for then-juvenile offenders. In 2021,

Warren Jeffs - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-547: The President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) in 1986 and had nineteen or twenty wives and approximately 60 children. Warren went on to have, according to former church members, 87 wives. Prior to his father's death in 2002, Jeffs held the position of counselor to the church leader. Jeffs became Rulon's successor with his official title in the FLDS Church becoming "President and Prophet, Seer and Revelator " as well as "President of

2904-420: The President of Malta . In France , while the law does not expressly provide for life imprisonment without any possibility of parole, a court can rule in exceptionally serious circumstances that convicts are ineligible for automatic parole consideration after 30 years if convicted of child murder involving rape or torture, premeditated murder of a state official or terrorism resulting in death. In Moldova , there

2992-465: The Supreme Court of the United States , with the question of whether juveniles should receive life without the possibility of parole in non-homicide cases. The Justices eventually ruled that such a sentence violated the juvenile's 8th Amendment rights, protecting them from punishments that are disproportionate to the crime committed, resulting in the abolition of life sentences without the possibility of parole in non-homicide cases for juveniles. In 2012,

3080-596: The Vatican City penal code in 2013, is just a variation of the death penalty. Originally in Malaysia, life imprisonment was construed as a jail term lasting the remainder of a convict's natural life, either with or without the possibility of parole. In April 2023, the Malaysian government officially abolished natural life imprisonment and instead redefined a life sentence as a jail term between 30 and 40 years. At

3168-527: The Arizona jail. On August 29, 2011, Jeffs was taken to East Texas Medical Center, Tyler, Texas , and hospitalized in critical condition under a medically induced coma after excessive fasting. Officials were not sure how long he would remain hospitalized, but expected Jeffs to live. Jeffs is incarcerated at the Louis C. Powledge Unit of the TDCJ near Palestine, Texas . Jeffs predicted in December 2012 that

3256-874: The Dominican Republic have all abolished life imprisonment. The maximum sentence is 75 years in El Salvador, 60 years in Colombia, 50 years in Costa Rica and Panama, 40 years in Honduras and Brazil, 30 years in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and 25 years in Paraguay and Ecuador. Life imprisonment in Canada is a criminal sentence for certain offences that lasts for

3344-607: The FLDS Church in a conversation with his brother Nephi . Nephi quoted him as saying he was "the greatest of all sinners" and that God had never called him to be a prophet. Jeffs presented a handwritten note to the judge at the end of trial on March 27, saying that he was not a prophet of the FLDS Church. On November 7, the Washington County, Utah , Attorney's Office released video of jailhouse conversations between Nephi and Jeffs, in which Jeffs renounces his prophethood, claiming that God had told him that if he revealed that he

3432-440: The FLDS Church, and many in the FLDS communities still regard him as the prophet and their current leader. There are also reports that Jeffs admitted his position of prophet in the FLDS Church was a usurpation in a conversation to his brother, and declared that "Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since [my] Father's passing", though Jeffs's attorneys have claimed he misspoke. In early 2011, Jeffs retook legal control of

3520-440: The FLDS Church. Federal prosecutors stated in 2016 that the publication had been financed by $ 250,000 in money defrauded from federal welfare programs and laundered through FLDS shops. The United Effort Plan (UEP) trust that formerly belonged to the FLDS was taken over by Utah in 2005 and controlled by the court for over a decade, before a judge handed it over to a community board mostly composed of former sect members. In 2017, both

3608-558: The Mexican state of Chihuahua . Other countries that do not practice life sentences include Mongolia in Asia and Norway, Iceland, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andorra and Montenegro in Europe. Where life imprisonment is a possible sentence, there may also exist formal mechanisms for requesting parole after a certain period of prison time. This means that a convict could be entitled to spend

Warren Jeffs - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-527: The Priesthood". The Revelator was the head of the organization of all adult male church members who were deemed worthy to hold the priesthood , a tradition carried on in the Latter Day Saint movement . The death of Rulon and Jeffs's ascension to the leadership position caused a split in the FLDS Church between Jeffs's followers and the followers of Winston Blackmore , the long-time bishop of

3784-572: The Supreme Court ruled in Jones v. Mississippi that sentencers are not required to make a separate finding of the defendant to be "permanently incorrigible" prior to sentencing a juvenile to life without parole. Pope Francis called for the abolition of both capital punishment and life imprisonment in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law . He also stated that life imprisonment, removed from

3872-426: The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Miller v. Alabama in a 5–4 decision and with the majority opinion written by Associate Justice Elena Kagan that mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. The majority opinion stated that barring a judge from considering mitigating factors and other information, such as age, maturity, and family and home environment violated

3960-464: The United States. According to a University of San Francisco School of Law study, only the U.S. had minors serving such sentences in 2008. In 2009, Human Rights Watch estimated that there were 2,589 youth offenders serving life sentences without the possibility for parole in the U.S. Since the start of 2020, that number has fallen to 1,465. The United States has the highest population of prisoners serving life sentences for both adults and minors, at

4048-416: The abuse Musser was "threatened" and did not tell anyone again until she was an adult. Musser recounts her experience in the FLDS being extremely regimented, stating, "They didn't let us work, they didn't let us go to school. Our sole purpose was to be in religious prayer and to be obedient, adoring." When she turned 19, she became the 19th bride of Rulon Jeffs after he received "divine inspiration" that she

4136-627: The authority to perform marriages, Jeffs was responsible for assigning wives to husbands. He also had the authority to discipline male church members by "reassigning their wives, children and homes to another man." Until courts in Utah intervened, Jeffs controlled almost all of the land in Colorado City, Arizona , and Hildale, Utah , which was part of a church trust called the United Effort Plan (UEP). The land has been estimated to be worth over $ 100 million. All UEP assets were put in

4224-572: The cane for robbery with hurt resulting in a female Japanese tourist's death at Oriental Hotel in 1994 and a consecutive sentence of life imprisonment with 12 strokes of the cane for kidnapping two police officers for ransom in 1996, which totalled up to 38 years' imprisonment and 30 strokes of the cane. Abdul Nasir's appeal for the two sentences to run concurrently led to the Court of Appeal of Singapore , which dismissed Abdul Nasir's appeal, to decide that it would be wrong to consider life imprisonment as

4312-686: The community. In July 2005, the Arizona Attorney General's office distributed wanted posters offering $ 10,000 for information leading to Jeffs's arrest and conviction. On October 28, Jeffs's brother Seth was arrested under suspicion of harboring a fugitive. During a routine traffic stop in Pueblo County, Colorado , police found nearly $ 142,000 in cash, $ 7,000 worth of prepaid debit cards and personal records. During Seth's court case, FBI Agent Andrew Stearns testified that Seth had told him that he did not know where his older brother

4400-642: The country was only possible when granted royal decree by the King of the Netherlands , with the last granting of a pardon taking place in 1986 when a terminally ill convict was released. As of 1970, the Dutch monarch has pardoned a total of three convicts. Although there is no possibility of parole eligibility, since 2016 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands are eligible to have their cases reviewed after serving at least 25 years. This change in law

4488-666: The country's criminal code, alongside a three-strikes law . In Europe , there are many jurisdictions where the law expressly provides for life sentences without the possibility of parole. These are England and Wales (within the United Kingdom ; see Life imprisonment in England and Wales ), the Netherlands , Moldova , Bulgaria , Italy (only for persons who refuse to cooperate with authorities and are sentenced for mafia activities or terrorism ), Ukraine , Poland , Turkey , Russia , and Serbia . In Sweden , although

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4576-603: The custody of the Utah court system pending further litigation. As the result of a November 2012 court decision, much of the UEP land is to be sold to those who live on it. In January 2004, Jeffs expelled a group of twenty men from the Short Creek Community , including the mayor, and reassigned their wives and children to other men in the community. Jeffs, like his predecessors, continued the standard FLDS and Mormon fundamentalist tenet that faithful men must follow what

4664-399: The denomination. In July 2004, Jeffs's nephew, Brent Jeffs, filed a lawsuit alleging that Jeffs had raped him in the FLDS Church's Salt Lake Valley compound in the late 1980s. Together with author Maia Szalavitz , Brent wrote the memoir Lost Boy, which recounts alleged incidents of child sexual abuse inflicted upon him by Jeffs, his brothers, and other family members, committed when Brent

4752-571: The devil for evil, as detailed in 2005 by the Southern Poverty Law Center 's Intelligence Report . While in prison, Jeffs has made several end times predictions. Life sentence Common law murder is one of the only crimes in which life imprisonment is mandatory; mandatory life sentences for murder are given in several countries, including some states of the United States and Canada . Life imprisonment (as

4840-471: The family's basement while Myrna and her children lived upstairs. One of Musser’s sisters is Elissa, author of the memoir Stolen Innocence , an account of her own escape from the church. Musser is mentioned in the book, including her reaction to the fact that Elissa had to marry their cousin at age 14. At around age five, Musser was the victim of sexual abuse along with some of her sisters by an upstairs half-brother. She stated that when Myrna found out about

4928-518: The first group of people to have their natural life sentences reduced to 30 years’ imprisonment after a re-sentencing hearing by the Federal Court of Malaysia , which was followed by many more such commutations in the months to come. In Singapore , before 20 August 1997, the law decreed that life imprisonment is a fixed sentence of 20 years with the possibility of one-third reduction of the sentence (13 years and 4 months) for good behaviour. It

5016-455: The foundation of a large FLDS temple on the YFZ Ranch . The ranch came into the public eye on April 7, 2008, when Texas authorities conducted a raid and took legal custody of 416 children, in response to a March 31 phone call alleging physical and sexual abuse on the ranch. The caller claimed to be a 16-year-old girl married to a 50-year-old man, and stated that she had given birth to his child

5104-681: The human life expectancy. For example, courts in South Africa have handed out at least two sentences that have exceeded a century, while in Tasmania , Australia, Martin Bryant , the perpetrator of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, received 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole. In the United States, James Holmes , the perpetrator of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting , received 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without

5192-420: The law does not expressly provide for life without the possibility of release, some convicted persons may never be released, on the grounds that they are too dangerous. In Italy , persons who refuse to cooperate with authorities and are sentenced for mafia activities or terrorism are ineligible for parole and thus will spend the rest of their lives in prison. In Austria, life imprisonment will mean imprisonment for

5280-564: The marriage between Elissa Wall and her first cousin. Jeffs was believed to be leading his group from jail and a Utah state board has expressed dissatisfaction in dealing with Hildale police, believing that many members of the force had ties to Jeffs, and thus did not cooperate. In May and July 2007, Jeffs was indicted in Arizona on eight counts, including sexual misconduct with a minor and incest. Jeffs's trial began on September 11, 2007, in St. George, Utah , with Judge James L. Shumate presiding. Jeffs

5368-559: The maximum prison sentence at 45 years, and Portugal abolished all forms of life imprisonment with the prison reforms of Sampaio e Melo in 1884 and has a maximum sentence of 25 years. Life imprisonment in Spain was abolished in 1928, but reinstated in 2015 and upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2021. Serbia previously had a maximum prison sentence of 40 years; life imprisonment was instated in 2019 by amendments to

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5456-402: The offender’s life. Parole is possible, but even if paroled, the offender remains under the supervision of Corrections Canada for their lifetime, and can be returned to prison for parole violations. A person serving a life sentence must serve for a certain length of time before becoming eligible for parole. First degree murder and high treason carry the longest period of parole ineligibility in

5544-480: The pending charges against Jeffs in Texas, Smith concluded that "it would be impractical and unnecessary" to try Jeffs in Arizona. Jeffs was then returned to Utah; at the time, his appeal of the 2007 conviction was still pending. On August 9, 2011, Jeffs was convicted in Texas on two counts of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole on July 22, 2038. Jeffs tried to hang himself in jail in 2007 in Utah. On July 9, 2008, he

5632-539: The possibility of parole. In the case of mass murder in the US, Parkland mass murderer Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to 34 consecutive terms of life imprisonment (without parole) for murdering 17 people and injuring another 17 at a school. Any sentence without parole effectively means a sentence cannot be suspended; a life sentence without parole, therefore, means that in the absence of unlikely circumstances such as pardon , amnesty or humanitarian grounds (e.g. imminent death),

5720-583: The prisoner will spend the rest of their natural life in prison. In several countries where de facto life terms are used, a release on humanitarian grounds (also known as compassionate release) is commonplace, such as in the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi . Since the behaviour of a prisoner serving a life sentence without parole is not relevant to the execution of such sentence, many people among lawyers , penitentiary specialists, criminologists , but most of all among human rights organizations oppose that punishment. In particular, they emphasize that when faced with

5808-426: The remainder of the offender's life unless clemency is granted by the President of Austria or it can be assumed that the convicted person will not commit any further crimes; the probationary period is ten years. In Malta, prior to 2018, there was previously never any possibility of parole for any person sentenced to life imprisonment, and any form of release from a life sentence was only possible by clemency granted by

5896-480: The rest of the sentence (until that individual dies) outside prison. Early release is usually conditional on past and future conduct, possibly with certain restrictions or obligations. In contrast, when a fixed term of imprisonment has ended, the convict is free. The length of time served and the conditions surrounding parole vary. Being eligible for parole does not necessarily ensure that parole will be granted. In some countries, including Sweden, parole does not exist but

5984-494: The state had not presented sufficient evidence of abuse to have removed them. On June 10, 2006, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Deseret News that he had heard from several sources that Jeffs had returned to Arizona, and had performed marriage ceremonies in a mobile home that was being used as a wedding chapel. On March 27, 2007, the Deseret News reported that Jeffs had renounced his role as prophet of

6072-512: The time of the reform, at least 117 prisoners were serving natural life imprisonment, consisting of 70 whose original death sentences were commuted to life (without parole) prior to the reform, and another 47 whose sentences of life were imposed by the courts, and all of these life convicts were allowed to have their jail terms reduced to between 30 and 40 years in jail. In November 2023, four drug traffickers - Zulkipli Arshad, Wan Yuriilhami Wan Yaacob, Ghazalee Kasim and Mohamad Junaidi Hussin - became

6160-418: The trust and Jeffs were sued by a woman alleging she was sexually abused by Jeffs when she was a child. Jeffs allegedly suffered a mental breakdown in the summer of 2019, leaving him unfit to give a deposition in the sex abuse case against him. Attorneys representing the UEP community trust contended that forcing him to testify would be "futile." The plaintiff's attorney said there is a lack of evidence to support

6248-497: The witness box." After testifying, Musser made headlines in the New York Daily News , AOL , and Marie Claire among others. In 2013 Musser wrote the memoir The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice along with author M. Bridget Cook, which was released by Grand Central Publishing . The title referenced when Musser wore her red dress to Jeffs' trial. The book received

6336-487: The world would end before 2013 and called for his followers to prepare for the end. In 2012, while incarcerated at the Powledge Unit, Jeffs released a book titled Jesus Christ Message to All Nations compiling various revelations that he stated he had received. Among these were directives to set Jeffs free and warnings to specific countries around the world. Copies of the book were mailed to Utah state legislators by

6424-435: Was a significant case in juvenile justice. In Jacksonville , Florida, Terrence J. Graham tried to rob a restaurant along with three adolescent accomplices. During the robbery, one of Graham's accomplices had a metal bar that he used to hit the restaurant manager twice in the head. Once arrested, Graham was charged with attempted armed robbery and armed burglary with assault/battery. The maximum sentence he faced for these charges

6512-440: Was a wife of the late Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Rulon Jeffs and escaped the compound before bringing legal proceedings against the church. In the film Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs , Musser is portrayed by actress Sabina Gadecki . Rebecca Wall was born to Sharon Steed and Lloyd Wall, both of whom were members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and had

6600-547: Was aged 5 or 6. Brent's brother Clayne committed suicide after accusing Jeffs of sexually assaulting him as a child. Two of Jeffs's nephews and two of Jeffs's own children have also publicly claimed to have been sexually abused by him. In June 2005, Jeffs was charged in Mohave County, Arizona , with sexual assault on a minor and with conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor for allegedly arranging , in April 2001,

6688-636: Was also scheduled to be tried in Arizona. He had entered a not-guilty plea on February 27, 2008, to sex charges stemming from the arranged marriages of three teenaged girls to older men. He was transported to the Mohave County jail to await trial. On June 9, 2010, a state judge, at the request of Mohave County prosecutor Matt Smith, dismissed all charges with prejudice. Smith said that the Arizona victims no longer wanted to testify and that Jeffs had spent almost two years in jail awaiting trial, more than he would have received had he been convicted. Combined with

6776-476: Was an appeal by Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah on 20 August 1997 that led to the law in Singapore to change the definition of life imprisonment into a sentence that lasts the remainder of the prisoner's natural life, with the possibility of parole after at least 20 years. Abdul Nasir was a convicted robber and kidnapper who was, in two separate High Court trials, sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment and 18 strokes of

6864-482: Was and that he would not reveal his whereabouts if he did. Seth was convicted of harboring a fugitive on May 1, 2006. On July 14, he was sentenced to three years probation and a $ 2,500 fine. On April 5, 2006, Utah issued an arrest warrant for Jeffs on felony charges of accomplice rape of a teenage girl between 14 and 18 years old. Shortly after, on May 6, the FBI placed Jeffs on its Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, offering

6952-484: Was because the European Court of Human Rights stated in 2013 that lifelong imprisonment without the chance of being released is inhuman. Even in other European countries that do provide for life without parole, courts continue to retain judicial discretion to decide whether a sentence of life should include parole or not. In Albania , the decision of whether or not a life-convicted person is eligible for parole

7040-544: Was convicted of two counts of rape as an accomplice, for which he was sentenced to imprisonment for ten years to life in Utah State Prison . This conviction was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court in 2010 due to flawed jury instructions. Jeffs was extradited to Texas, where he was found guilty of sexual assault of a minor, for raping a 15-year-old child bride ; and aggravated sexual assault against

7128-446: Was housed in Utah's Purgatory Correctional Facility in solitary confinement for the duration. At the culmination of the trial, on September 25, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape. He was sentenced to prison for ten years to life and began serving his sentence at the Utah State Prison . On July 27, 2010, the Utah Supreme Court , citing deficient jury instructions, reversed Jeffs's convictions and ordered

7216-469: Was involved in another robbery. Since he violated the conditions of his probation, his probation officer reported to the trial court about his probation violations a few weeks before Graham turned 18 years old. It was a different judge presiding over his trial for the probation violations a year later. While Graham denied any involvement in the robbery, he did admit to fleeing from the police. The trial court found that Graham violated his probation by "committing

7304-408: Was life without the possibility of parole, and the prosecutor wanted to charge him as an adult. During the trial, Graham pleaded guilty to the charges, resulting in three years of probation, one year of which had to be served in jail. Since he had been awaiting trial in jail, he already served six months and, therefore, was released after six additional months. Within six months of his release, Graham

7392-457: Was not the rightful prophet, and was a "wicked man", he would still gain a place in the celestial kingdom . Jeffs also admits to what he calls "immoral actions with a sister and a daughter" when he was 20 years old. Other records show that while incarcerated, Jeffs tried to kill himself by banging his head against the walls and trying to hang himself. Jeffs formally resigned as President of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007. In an email to

7480-529: Was pulled over on Interstate 15 in Clark County, Nevada , by highway trooper Eddie Dutchover because the temporary license plates on his red 2007 Cadillac Escalade were not visible. One of Jeffs's wives, Naomi Jessop, and his brother Isaac were with him. Jeffs possessed four computers, sixteen cell phones, disguises (including three wigs and twelve pairs of sunglasses), and more than $ 55,000 in cash. Jeffs's wife and brother were questioned and released. In

7568-438: Was since regarded as a landmark in Singapore's legal history as it changed the definition of life imprisonment from "life" to "natural life" under the law. Vic, ACT: No NSW, Vic, QLD, WA, SA, Tas, ACT, NT: by statute * under 14 : no imprisonment under 18 : No, automatic reduction if mandatory Rebecca Musser Rebecca Musser ( née Wall , formerly Jeffs ; born 1976) is an American author and activist. She

7656-729: Was taken from the Mohave County, Arizona jail in Kingman, Arizona , to a Las Vegas, Nevada , hospital for what was described as a serious medical problem. Sheriff Tom Sheahan did not specify the problem, but said it was serious enough to move him about 100 miles from the Kingman Regional Medical Center to the Nevada hospital. Jeffs has engaged in lengthy hunger strikes, which his doctors and attorneys have claimed were for spiritual reasons. In August 2009, Superior Court Judge Steve Conn ordered that Jeffs be force-fed at

7744-444: Was to be his new wife. Rulon was 85 at the time. Musser stated, "I was scared, I was terrified of marrying this man, and yet I could not say no because it would bring a tremendous amount of shame on my family." After Musser was given to Rulon by her father Lloyd, Lloyd was "gifted a third wife" by Rulon. Musser endured years of sexual abuse by Jeffs until his death in 2002 at age 92. By that time, 63 other women were her "sister-wives",

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