Years of outrageous behavior kept Mitchell from standing court for allegedly kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. More than eight years have passed since Elizabeth Smart went missing at age 14 in Salt Lake City. Jury selection for Mitchell’s court began Monday. Mitchell’s lawyers are planning an insanity defense in a trial where Mitchell’s wife, already convicted of the kidnapping, could testify against her husband.
When Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped on June 5, 2002. Her parents put each effort into finding her while the news soaked it all up. The teenager's abduction was known by everyone. The drifter who had worked at the Smart residence at one point, Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Ileen Barzee, were found with her nine months later just 18 miles from her home. Mitchell, who believed he had been a prophet named “Emmanuel,” had been charged along with his wife with kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary. In July 2005, the couple had been in a Utah district court and was ruled incompetent to stand trial.
Elizabeth Smart has a circumstance
Legal action begun again after Mitchell and Barzee were ruled competent to face court in 2008 after a Television movie came out about Elizabeth Smart. Barzee pleaded guilty in Nov 2009. This was to unlawful transportation of a minor and also the kidnapping. She ended up getting a prison sentence of 15 years. Barzee made a plea agreement to cooperate in both state and federal cases against Mitchell. In December 2009 a nurse observing Mitchell in a psychiatric ward said he was faking insane behavior to stay away from prosecution. Mitchell had been called a "misleading psychopath" by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball who said he will stand court in March 2010.
Brian David Mitchell is on trial now
22 year old Elizabeth Smart testified. This occurred at a Mitchell competency hearing they had. She said that through the nine months she had been held by Mitchell, he sexually assaulted her numerous times when also taking her at knife point from her room. Mitchell’s attorneys unsuccessfully tried to force a change of venue, saying intense media coverage of the story in 2002 would make it impossible to discover impartial jurors. 35 potential jurors followed Mitchell into the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City Monday while he had been dressed as a prisoner rather than a patient.
Articles cited
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/22/AR2010102202949.html
CNN
cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/31/utah.elizabeth.smart.trial/index.html?npt=NP1
Salt Lake Tribune
sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50581578-76/mitchell-juror-jury-case.html.csp
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Smart_kidnapping
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