![]() ![]() And in the position I was in, with being the first wife of the leader of the community, and caregiver for many women in the community, I didn't feel like I could protect them. I could see many, many difficult situations women were in. That was among them, for sure.ĭuring my life, I've been in a position where I had the confidence and the responsibility of caring for women, and during my time in the community, I felt like my hands were tied. I've done many difficult things in my life. ![]() How difficult was that to you to testify, to speak truth to that? Winston Blackmore, left, and James Oler were each charged with one count of polygamy. Many people, especially women and children, were being hurt and I feel like it needs to be stopped. I was convinced many years ago that I didn't believe in what was going on and felt it was wrong. I was subpoenaed - but obviously I couldn't have been forced to talk about my former partner.īut I felt like it was important to speak my truth. Why did you agree to testify against Winston Blackmore? I'm 61 years old and the controversy regarding polygamy and the community of Bountiful has been my whole life. She left the fundamentalist Christian polygamist community in 2003 and fled to Cranbrook, B.C., where As It Happens host Carol Off reached her Friday.ĭid you think that you would see this day? She was also Bountiful's midwife. Oler is her half-brother. They have seven children together, and 46 grandchildren. Jane Blackmore was Winston Blackmore's first wife of more than two dozen - and the only one who testified against him court. She married him when she was 18. Supreme Court judge ruled Canada's polygamy laws are constitutional, rejecting the argument from Bountiful, B.C., polygamists Winston Blackmore and James Oler, who claimed the law violated their charter rights. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.Jane Blackmore says Friday's ruling upholding her ex-husband's polygamy conviction was "a long time coming."Ī B.C. The Associated Press contributed to this report. They have both been part of the small community of Bountiful, a mountainous region in southeastern British Columbia.ĭozens of Blackmore’s supporters were in court and were upset when the sentence was read.īlackmore’s lawyer had asked the judge to consider all possible sentences in the case, including an absolute discharge. The maximum sentence for polygamy under the region’s criminal code is five years in prison.ĬLARIFICATION: A previous version of this report referred to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a “Mormon sect.” The group has split from the Mormon church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The two men have been leaders in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which believes in plural marriage. “I’m guilty of living my religion and that’s all I’m saying today because I’ve never denied that,” Blackmore told reporters last year after his conviction. “The concept of remorse is foreign to him in this context.”īlackmore has defended polygamy to reporters in the past but had trouble naming all of his wives in court, even forgetting one of their names, AFP reported. “He’s made it clear that no sentence will deter him from practicing his faith,” the judge said of Blackmore. Some of the men’s wives, for example, were as young as 15 when they were married. Blackmore was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service work, while Oler must do 75 hours.īritish Columbia Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said while both men were hard-working and otherwise law-abiding, a discharge by the court would have not been appropriate, given the gravity of their offenses. Oler’s term is three months of house arrest. Blackmore has 149 kids, the Star Vancouver reported.īlackmore’s six-month conditional sentence, to be served under house arrest, allows him to go to work and deal with medical emergencies. Winston Blackmore, 61, was found guilty last year of having 24 wives while James Oler, 53, was found guilty of having five wives. Two leaders of a fundamentalist group who between them have 29 wives and 160 children were sentenced to house arrest on Tuesday after being convicted of polygamy. ![]() Trump is right to meet with Putin - Here is what they need to talk about Hawaii emergency workers slept on the job, emails showed in aftermath of fake missile alert German man suspected of murdering 21 co-workers by poisoning their food ![]()
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