MENNONITE RELEASED, SAYS SHE WILL TESTIFY

A Mennonite woman who has been jailed for refusing to testify in a Colorado death penalty case will be released immediately, although the judge who ordered her detention expressed skepticism about the woman’s religious beliefs.

In the order allowing Greta Lindecrantz’s release, Arapahoe County District Judge Michelle Amico wrote that Lindecrantz will not be cleared of her contempt-ofcourt charge until she takes the stand at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

“The court is somewhat leery of Ms. Lindecrantz’s continually shifting positions as to what her religious beliefs require of her in this proceeding, and she should be aware that if she fails to appear Wednesday morning, a bench warrant will be issued for her arrest,” Amico’s order said.

During the weekend, Lindecrantz, 67, notified the court she would testify, and her lawyer on Monday filed a motion seeking her client’s release from the Arapahoe County jail.

Lindecrantz was jailed Feb. 26 for refusing to testify as a witness for the prosecution in the case of Robert Ray, who was sentenced to death in 2009 for the deaths of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe.