Bigamist wants his term stayed
 Holm seeking freedom until appeals used up
 
By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
 
ST. GEORGE — Convicted bigamist Rodney Holm, a former police officer in the twin polygamist towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., wants to get out of jail.

Holm's attorney, Rod Parker, filed a motion for release with the 5th District Court in St. George last week, seeking an issuance of a certificate of probable cause, which would free Holm until his appeals are exhausted.

"A three-judge panel will hear the appeal, but we don't know yet when the judges will be seated," Parker said Tuesday.

Utah Assistant Attorney General Kristine Knowlton, who prosecuted the case, said she is in the process of responding to the motion.

"We object, obviously," said Knowlton, who declined further comment.

The motion is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. review hearing Nov. 6 in St. George.

On Aug. 14, a jury of five women and three men found Holm guilty of bigamy and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor 16 or 17 years old, all third-degree felonies.

The charges stem from Holm's union with a third wife, Ruth Stubbs, who was 16 at the time of the plural marriage performed by leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Holm, who was 32 at the time, is also married to Stubbs' older sister, Suzie, and a second wife, Wendy. Stubbs, who was pregnant with Holm's third child by the time she was 19, left the family in late 2001.

Holm, who began serving a year in the Washington County jail with work release privileges on Oct. 13, was granted a three-day furlough over the weekend to attend the birth of his 23rd child.

The motion to release Holm, pending the outcome of his appeals, is based on several issues, including the state's failure to prove the conception of Stubbs' children with Holm occurred in Utah.

Parker also argues that Stubbs, who was a reluctant witness during the trial and wrote a letter to the judge asking that Holm be kept out of jail, was not forced into marriage and had the consent of her father.

"Consent is not an issue, because outside of polygamy, the state allows 16-year-olds and their families to make their own choices regarding marriage, reserving for itself a purely ministerial role," Parker's motion states.

Holm's religious belief in the sanctity and necessity of plural marriage is being violated under Utah law, and his right for equal protection is therefore denied, according to the motion.

"Mr. Holm sincerely believes that for him and his family to attain the highest degree of glory in the afterlife, he must enter the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage as explained in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132. The state attempts to criminalize that conduct," the motion continues.

Utah also violates Holm's rights to choose with whom he enters into and maintains intimate human relationships, the motion states. Holm's attempts during the trial to offer expert testimony to address several of these issues were denied, Parker said.

Judge G. Rand Beacham, who presided over the trial and sentencing, earlier denied a motion to dismiss the case. In doing so, the judge also said he believed the defense raised issues that should be heard by a higher court, Parker said.
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Thursday, October 23, 2003
 
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