Polygamy sentences elicit mixed reaction
Some say it sends message, while others say ‘cults won’
Social media has been flooded with reaction to two B.C. polygamists having been sentenced to house arrest with no time in jail.
Winston Blackmore, 61, was sentenced to six months of house arrest, while James Oler, 54, was given three months. Both men must also do community service and serve probation.
The judge found Blackmore married 25 women. Nine of them were under 18 and four under 14 on their wedding days. Oler had five wives, including two who were under age. Both men, former bishops in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, were described by the judge as having no remorse.
The sentence also hasn’t escaped the attention of B.C. Attorney General David Eby.
“I am aware of the sentences handed down to Mr. Blackmore and Mr. Oler,” Eby said in an emailed statement.
“Our government takes very seriously the safety and well-being of women and children, regardless of religion or circumstance,” the email said. “We are committed to creating a province where all women have the services and supports they need to help prevent and escape from difficult domestic situations.”
The attorney general said the NDP government’s recent budget added $18 million for those services such as counselling, outreach, and crisis support for women and children who experience domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes.
Eby said any further questions about the case including the likelihood of an appeal should be directed to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
Sally Armstrong, a Canadian journalist and activist who has written about polygamy and child marriage, said in an email to The Salt Lake Tribune: “The cults won. The women and girls lost.”
But former attorney general Wally Oppal told The Canadian Press that while the sentence might have dismayed many observers, “This should be a wake-up call to other people in Bountiful who may be doing the same things.”
“For years, they thought they were immune to any prosecution because they relied on the principle of freedom of religions. Well, the courts have now spoken that freedom of religion is a principle in our Charter (of Rights and Freedoms), but like all freedoms, it’s not absolute.”
Unlike Oppal, Arthur Palmer, a former FLDS member and a relative of the two men, was scathing in his Facebook post that was followed by a crying emoji.
“I find you guilty of polygamy, so I’m gonna punish you by sentencing you to your home to live polygamy 24 hours a day!”
Oler’s sister, Twyla Quinton, said in an online chat with the The Salt Lake Tribune, “This whole thing feels like a waste of everyone’s time and money. Glad it’s over.”
On the day of the sentencing, one of Blackmore’s wives, Marjorie Johnson, updated her Facebook page with a photo of the two of them together surrounded by hearts. One of her friends commented, “Great picture! I bet all are just beaming with joy.”
Mary Jayne Blackmore, one of his daughters, posted that his sentence will allow him to go to work and “be at the meeting house from 10-1 on Sunday!”
Queen’s University law professor Nick Bala, who has written about polygamy, told CP both men “knowingly, flagrantly violated the law.
“They have apparently no real remorse. In those circumstances, a jail sentence would be appropriate.”
But, he said, “The justice system has not done nothing. We have a lot more clarity in the law.”
Stephen Kent disagreed. “For critics of polygamy, they will feel tremendous disappointment and frustration,” said the University of Alberta sociology professor, who has written about plural marriage.
“The community probably is just going to continue practising polygamy as it always has.”