Blackmore confirmed that all of his marriages were celestial marriages in accordance with FLDS rules and practices.”īlackmore’s lawyer Blair Suffredine told the court he would launch a constitutional challenge of Canada’s polygamy laws. He spoke openly about his practice of polygamy.”īlackmore was shown a list of his alleged wives and made two corrections to the details, Donegan said. would not deny his faith in his 2009 statement to police. “His adherence to the practices and beliefs of the FLDS is not in dispute,” Donegan said, reading her written ruling in a Cranbrook, B.C., courtroom. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said the “collective force of the evidence” proved the guilt of both men, who were practising members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect that believes in plural marriage. This is what we expected.”īlackmore, 60, was married to Jane Blackmore and then married 24 additional women as part of so-called “celestial” marriages involving residents in the tiny community of Bountiful.ī.C. “Twenty-seven years and tens of millions of dollars later, all we’ve proved is something we’ve never denied,” Blackmore said. “I’m guilty of living my religion and that’s all I’m saying today because I’ve never denied that,” Blackmore told reporters after a judge announced a verdict against him and co-defendant James Oler. Winston Blackmore was making no apologies Monday after he and another former bishop of an isolated religious community in British Columbia were found guilty of practising polygamy. Manage Print Subscription / Tax ReceiptĬRANBROOK, B.C.“There was a resistance to being in the spotlight, especially in the spotlight as a plural wife,” said Campbell at the time. This, they said, make it more difficult for women to seek help and support in times of need. What does harm to the community, the women said, is the prohibition of polygamy, as it fuels stigma and isolation. Some said they felt empowered and confident, as the practice of polygamy is a cornerstone of their religious faith. When it comes to the wives of Bountiful in particular, many in polygamous marriages told McGill researcher Angela Campbell in 20 that they did not feel oppressed or vulnerable in their relationships. The group has argued that any acts of violence, rape, or child abuse are already treated as crimes, and are mutually exclusive from the act of polygamy. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, in particular, has actively opposed the laws because they criminalize acts between consenting adults, something that is not a crime. While many religious and women’s rights groups praised that decision as one that would protect women and children, other civil libertarians and feminist scholars vehemently oppose the criminalization of the practice - and call for the decriminalization of polygamy. In that 335-page ruling, the judge acknowledged that while the law does violate freedom of religion, it’s nevertheless justified due to the harms that polygamy imposes on women and children. That prompted the government to launch a constitutional case that upheld the country’s anti-polygamy criminal laws in 2011. In 2009, polygamy charges against Blackmore and Oler were thrown out over the method that the province chose the special prosecutor. Oler then replaced him, but Blackmore continued to lead his own splinter group. In 2002, Jeffs excommunicated Blackmore, who was then the FLDS leader in Bountiful, for reasons that remain unclear. This includes the U.S.-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), formerly led by Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for multiple child rape convictions. The mainstream Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints based in Utah officially renounced polygamy in the late 1800s and denies any connection to Blackmore and other fundamentalist Mormon congregations. Oler did not have a lawyer in the proceedings and did not defend himself, either. It’s unclear how many children Oler has.īlackmore’s lawyer has previously pledged to launch a constitutional challenge against the country’s laws prohibiting polygamy should his client be convicted. Blackmore has fathered a reported 148 children. The pair face the possibility of spending years in jail for the crimes.īoth Blackmore and Oler, 53, are former bishops over fundamentalist Mormon sects in Bountiful, a religious commune of about 1,000 people in southeastern British Columbia.
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