A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced Winston Blackmore to six months of house arrest for practising polygamy. Justice Sherry Anne Donegan just handed down the sentence in Cranbrook, B.C. A special prosecutor recommended three to six months in jail for Blackmore, 60, and one to three months for James Oler, 53. The two former religious leaders were convicted last July of practising plural or "celestial" marriage in the community of Bountiful, B.C. Blackmore's lawyer had asked the judge to consider all possible sentences, including an absolute discharge for his client.
Blackmore was found to have taken two dozen wives, while Oler was found to have married five women. Oler did not have legal representation in court, but a lawyer who acted as a so-called friend of the court to ensure a fair trial said Oler is hard working and imprisonment may not be necessary to deter and denounce polygamy. The maximum sentence for polygamy under the Criminal Code is five years in prison. With files from The Canadian Press | 
發表於 2018-6-26 10:03
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