A federal grand jury indicts Mitchell and Barzee on charges of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines. In October, after the state judge denies a request to forcibly medicate Mitchell, the case is transferred to the federal court system. Two weeks before another competency hearing commences for Mitchell, Barzee formally admits to her role in the kidnapping and enslavement of Smart. After years of disrupting hearings by delivering admonishments and singing hymns, Mitchell is found competent to stand trial.
Barzee is sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for kidnapping and sexual assault and one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison for the attempted kidnapping of Smart's cousin, the sentences to run concurrently. The defendant also receives a stern admonishment from Smart's mother: "What you did to our family and our girl Elizabeth was wrong. It was wrong, and it was evil," Lois tells Barzee. Mitchell's long-awaited trial on felony kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary charges begins with jury selection.
A few days later, after the trial's sudden halt over a request for a new venue, an appeals court rules that proceedings can continue in Salt Lake City. Returning from her international Mormon missionary work for three days of testimony, a composed Smart details the sexual abuse and horrific conditions she endured over nine months in captivity. She also recalls a situation in which she was nearly rescued by a detective in a library, but was too scared to ask for help.
Taking the stand as part of her plea deal, Barzee explains the "revelation" that drove her husband's desire to abduct girls until he had wives, and describes how she followed orders to prepare the first campsite for Smart's arrival.
Rejecting the defense's insanity argument, the jury finds Mitchell guilty of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for sexual activity. Smart, who is seen exchanging smiles with her mother when the verdict is announced, afterward says she is "thrilled" with the outcome.
Smart, who has launched the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to combat sexual violence, confronts her abductor shortly before he receives a life sentence for his crimes.
Now married , Smart publishes her first memoir of the ordeal, My Story. Barzee is granted her freedom under the conditions that she registers as a sex offender and participate in a mental health treatment program. Smart, who'd voiced her opposition to the parole board's decision, follows with an Instagram post : "May we all remain vigilant in watching over our families, friends, and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage.
I truly believe life is meant to be happy and beautiful, and no matter what happens that will remain my goal for me and for my family. Williams did not answer questions about where Barzee will live or whether she has a support system.
He expressed confidence that she could live in society without any problems, but said her biggest challenge, "obviously, is the high-profile nature" of the case. Smart was abducted at knifepoint in from the Salt Lake City bedroom she shared with her younger sister in a case that drew international headlines. After intense media attention surrounding Smart's disappearance, Smart was seen walking the streets of a Salt Lake City suburb with Brian David Mitchell, a street pastor, and Barzee, his wife.
The couple was arrested and charged in her kidnapping, which Smart has said included repeated sexual assaults by Mitchell. During the attacks, Barzee would sit next to Smart and "encourage her husband to continue to rape me," Smart recalled during a press conference last week. Mitchell, who prior to the abduction had done odd jobs around the Smart family household, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and raping Smart.
Barzee was convicted of state and federal crimes, and in was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in the abduction. She received credit for time already served and in , Barzee was released from federal prison but still faced one to 15 years in state prison for a separate attempted abduction of Smart's cousin.
In June, her attorney asked that Barzee get credit toward her state sentence for the time she spent in federal credit, but the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied that request — and set Barzee's sentence to go until That changed last Tuesday when the parole board announced that Barzee would be released on Sept. The parole board said that after a legal review of Barzee's time served, it discovered that part of the time she spent in federal prison should in fact count toward her state sentence, making her eligible for release.
Barzee will be under federal supervision for five years. Smart's attorney, Brett Tolman, told the Associated Press that conditions of Barzee's release include mental health treatment and an order not to contact Smart's family.
Upon her release, Barzee also voluntarily agreed to not go to any geographic locations that the Smart family might frequent, Williams, her attorney, said. That hasn't necessarily been the case in Milwaukee, where some news accounts have reported that Alexis Patterson's stepfather has a criminal record that includes serving as the getaway driver in a bank robbery that resulted in the killing of a police officer.
Someone coming to your home and abducting your kid while you're sleeping. That could happen to any of us," said McBride. She notes that the public is less involved in the case if they feel there was some "lapse" in the parent's care of the child. Bob Steele, a journalism ethics expert with the Poynter Institute, a journalism training organization in St. Petersburg, Fla. In an article posted Thursday at the Poynter Web site, Steele cites several factors that determine the publicity that a missing person case might get in the media:.
And, while socio-economic statistics are harder to come by, it's safe to say that the majority of journalists are at least middle class," he said in his article. Arizona and many other states have non-profit groups that work with families to help them deal with the media during the chaotic days after a child's disappearance.
They may say things that police might not want regarding the investigation," McBride said. But Williams she said she is troubled by a feeling that there isn't the same interest in a missing black girl from a poor neighborhood.
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