Polygamist Warren Jeffs' Convictions Overturned

(CBS/AP)  Last updated 2:53 p.m. ET.

The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the convictions of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and ordered a new trial, saying a jury received incorrect instructions before considering his role in the 2001 nuptials of a 14-year-old girl to her 19-year-old cousin.

Jeffs, 54, was convicted in 2007 of two counts of first-degree felony rape as an accomplice. He is serving two consecutive terms of five years to life in the Utah State Prison.

A telephone call seeking comment from the Washington County attorney's office and the Utah attorney was not immediately returned Tuesday. Jeffs' lawyers scheduled a news conference later Tuesday. An extradition hearing for Jeffs was also canceled after the Supreme Court's ruling was released.

Jeffs is head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The group, based on the Utah-Arizona state line, practices polygamy in marriages arranged by church leaders.

More on Warren Jeffs:

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Famed Polygamist
Sex Assault Charges For Polygamist Leader
Warren Jeffs: The Godfather

More on Polygamy:

Jury Selection Begins in Polygamist Trial
Texas Ends Several Polygamist Sect Cases
Jury Selection Begins in Polygamist Trial
Polygamy: A World Apart

Jeffs performed the religious marriage of Elissa Wall and Allen Steed in a Caliente, Nev., motel and later counseled Wall to be obedient and give her "mind, body and soul" to her husband in an effort to make an unhappy marriage work.

During the trial and later in her book, "Stolen Innocence," Wall said she objected to the marriage and was forced into sexual relations with her husband.

The Associated Press does not typically name victims of alleged sexual assault, but Wall has frequently spoken publicly about the case.

In its ruling Tuesday, the court agreed with defense attorneys who argued that jurors should not have been told to decide whether Wall's marital relations were consensual based on Jeffs' actions and his role as her religious leader. That essentially equates Jeffs with Steed - the person who allegedly has had nonconsensual sex.

Justices said prosecutors were wrong to make that leap.

"Only after there is a determination that an offense has been committed can the law impose liability on another party who 'solicited, request, commanded, encouraged or intentionally aided' in the commission of that offense," the court's opinion states.

Steed was charged with rape the day after Jeffs' September 2007 conviction, but the case has languished and it's unclear how it might now proceed.

Under state law, the parties in the case now have 14 days to ask for a rehearing of the case before the Utah Supreme Court.

The ruling from the high court comes as Washington County authorities investigate allegations that Wall may have lied about her medical records that were used in the trial.

County Attorney Brock Belnap launched an investigation in February after he was told by a third party that Wall's "medical records had all been created in one day to make it look like she had seen a caretaker on several different occasions."

The status of that investigation was unclear Tuesday. Wall's attorney, Roger Hoole, told The Associated Press he had no comment ahead of a news conference he planned for Tuesday afternoon.

An extradition hearing for Jeffs has also been canceled. Jeffs had been scheduled to appear in Utah's 3rd District Court on Tuesday so a judge could ask him to sign a warrant seeking his extradition to Texas to face criminal charges there.

Texas authorities used family records gathered during a 2008 raid on a church ranch near Eldorado to charge Jeffs with bigamy, sexual assault of a child and aggravated assault. The charges allege marriages between Jeffs and girls ages 17 and 15 in 2005.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press last week, defense attorney Wally Bugden said Jeffs intends to oppose extradition.

It's expected that Texas authorities will have to start a new proceeding to continue efforts to extradite Jeffs.

[diamruby]

The girl was not coerced into this marriage, she was forced to marry him & any one else Jeffs decideds to put her with. If you read about this cult you will find that the followers are nothing but slaves, sexually abused, beaten & brain washed, all in the name of religion. They live on welfare, are mostly inbreds & cost us tax payers millions of dollars a year. They are nothing more than a bunch of worthless, lazy men that like to breed with alot of women & children. It is hard to believe that our government believes this is alright & is on the side of these evil people. Why do they punish other child sex offenders & not these nuts???

[bajajohn1]

Regardless of personal opinion, it does seem the Court applied the correcly the principles of state decisis in rendering its decision. Insufficient evidence of coercion to engage in sexual relations by the teen with her husband.

[tryhonesty]

Good Ol' RepubliCON UTAH! Shocker, NOT.

[stevex47]

Now the Utah court is an accomplice to felony rape.

[luccanla]

This guy and all his followers should be locked up forever. And they talk about gays being bad look at this bunch of sickos and they do through Christianity.

[kaviz]

I say let him out and somebody with a conscience near him, grab him and take him to Texas. I don't care much for Texas overall, but they do seem to get justice done. Just need to limit the appeals when there is so much evidence. My bad.

[kamsack50]

I don't see anything wrong with polygamy. I think 4 wives is fine. One, the main one, is for love while the other three are for sex.

[AnnieDanny]

This seems like an enormous waste of taxpayers money. There was an email joke circulating this week about how things are handled in CA vs. AZ, which explains why CA is nearly bankrupt... and I think there's some truth in that. Over-analyzing is very expensive, and how much is actually accomplished in the long run?

Somebody nit-picked this trial until they found a reason to do it again, is that what happened? Is the anomaly REALLY so serious that they have to START OVER? I saw the headline and I just felt disgusted and angry.

[doctor_know]

California has by far the biggest economy of any state.... Arizona is peanuts compared to California.... it is simply less complicated to govern Arizona.

[BigMykul]

by Cycoblitz July 27, 2010 5:40 PM EDT
Not too many men would allow 1 wife and several husbands. They think this is a man's world. Only men think it's cool to fantasize over more than 1 wife.

How could any man want more than one wife? Just having one is work enough for me.

[quaso]

Yaaaaaaayyy! This was a miscarraige of justice from the gitgo. Warren Jeffs didn't rape this child. He just performed the marraige ceremony. Guilt by association is one of the worst legal concepts of the last 100 years.

This is all about a cultural war on polygamy which is perfectly legal in many countries.

[Myopinion046]

Polygamy plays havoc upon women that desire the full love and devotion of their husband, creates extreme competition between men to and including castration to get mates, becomes the sole purview of the wealthy and well-to-do eventually wherever it's practiced, and is unbiblical as the three "husband of one wife" statements in 1 Timothy and Titus shows. 1 Corinthians 7:2 doesn't support polygamy either. The Mormon revelation that Jeffs used as his justification erroneously calls Isaac that married Rebekah only a polygamist in the first verse!

[Myopinion046]

Marriage involves sex and she was pressured into marrying. One fails to see how that doesn't make Jeffs an accomplice to rape.