Going against the advice of his attorney, self-proclaimed polygamist Tom Green took the offensive Monday and accused The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of collaborating with Juab County Attorney David Leavitt in his prosecution.
Tom Green says he has been unfairly targeted for prosecution.
Associated Press/Douglas C. Pizac
Just one week before he is to stand trial for charges of bigamy and criminal nonsupport, Green held a press conference at the Salt Lake City Main Library.
Speaking to reporters, Green noted that Brigham Young University law professor Monte Stewart has actively worked with Leavitt and that almost all legal motions filed this year by the state were faxed from the BYU law school. Green said that proves the LDS Church is actively aiding the state in his prosecution.
Green read an excerpt from a May 8 hearing quoting Leavitt as saying, "We currently owe Mr. Stewart approximately $20,000. That is money that he likely or maybe never sees. He's in it because he's committed himself to see this thing through."
"Here we have a church-owned law school with church-owned libraries," Green said. "I don't understand why the LDS Church is prosecuting me along with the state. . . . My question is this: Why is the LDS Church a co-prosecutor in this case?"
In a phone interview Monday, Leavitt said he could not talk about case or trial specifics because of a court-imposed gag order, but acknowledged he hired Stewart and swore him in as a deputy attorney specifically for the prosecution of Green. But he emphasized there is no conspiracy by the LDS Church and the state.
A spokesman for the LDS Church said that the church has chosen not to comment about Green's press conference at this time.
"I contacted Mr. Stewart approximately 18 months ago when I knew the case would involve some interesting legal issues," Leavitt said, "and Monte is far and away the most capable lawyer that I've met."
"People who are anxious to find conspiracy will find it in every corner," Leavitt added. He noted the BYU fax number appears because that is where Stewart works. Leavitt said the LDS Church has not funded any of the work, nor has it done anything that tends to determine the outcome of the case.
Stewart declined to comment, noting the gag order.
"I'm not being prosecuted because I'm a polygamist so much as I'm being prosecuted because I'm a polygamist who has the courage to stand up and say so," said Green. And that, he said, makes the state and the LDS Church nervous.
"If he would just shut up, keep his head down, stay hidden like all the other 'good polygamists' do, so that nobody else in America and the world would know that polygamy still exists in Utah and so that the establishment in this state, most of whom are all descendants of polygamists, can all pretend that polygamy doesn't exist," Green said.
Green noted that most of the members of the prosecution team, including Leavitt, are LDS Church members who come from a polygamist heritage.
"I make no bones about my ancestry," Leavitt said, "(but) it doesn't come to bear on the practice today; he can call it what he wants, I suppose."
Green said he is being singled out under the bigamy law, saying there are many in Utah who "fornicate" outside of marriage for "fun" who don't get prosecuted.
"When you cohabitate with somebody else, in other states it's called 'shacking up.' Most states don't have laws against it, most look the other way even if they do, just like Utah does if you don't do it for religious reasons. But we've gotta have that law there in case we want to go after a polygamist who does it for religious reasons," Green said.
Green said his attorney, John Bucher, told him not to talk to the media out of concern that it might affect his trial next week and "inflame" the prosecution. Green said his strong feelings about his case prompted his decision to make the allegations public.
"I'm just at a point where I just don't care . . . to me it's worth dying for" or going to prison, he said.
Jury selection is expected to begin May 14 in 4th District Court in Provo. Green also faces a separate charge of child rape for allegedly fathering a child with Linda Kunz when she was 13. Kunz considers herself one of Green's wives and said she chose to marry Green, but Utah law does not allow children under 14 to consent to sexual relationships.
Attorneys in the case were meeting in Provo Tuesday morning to discuss what evidence will be shown to the eight-member jury next week.