Attention Outgoing State Governors

There are state Governors in the US who are rapidly approaching the end of their terms as Governor and will be leaving that office.

We are respectfully imploring you to use your executive powers to pardon any of your residents convicted of crimes due to having consensual (to be redundant) sex with an adult under anti-incest laws, whether they are currently in the justice system or not, even if they have since passed away,

Let's be clear. We're not talking about assault or child molestation. We're talking about sex between consenting adults (or between minors close in age to each other), still criminalized in your states. The laws should be changed, but since they haven't been yet, please have mercy on these people.

This plea is directed at the following Governors:

Matt Mead - Wyoming
Scott Walker - Wisconsin
Bill Haslam - Tennessee
Dennis Daugaard - South Dakota
Jerry Brown - California
John Hickenlooper - Colorado
Dannel Malloy - Connecticut
Rick Scott - Florida
Nathan Deal - Georgia
Butch Otter - Idaho
Bruce Rauner - Illinois
Jeff Colyer - Kansas
Paul LePage - Maine
Rick Snyder - Michigan
Mark Dayton - Minnesota
Brian Sandoval - Nevada
Susana Martinez - New Mexico
John Kasich - Ohio
Mary Fallin - Oklahoma

If we've missed an outgoing Governor, we apologize.


This plea is also directed at Governors of US territories: If you have the power to do so, pardon or at least commute the sentences of those listed as criminals due to consanguineous affections.

If you are the Governor or someone on the Governor's staff, or someone with access to the Governor, please act quickly to get this done. We know time is very limited.

There is no good reason these people should suffer any more for having had a physical relationship.

Let's stop wasting public resources on treating these people like they are a threat to anyone. If they were convicted of additional crimes relating to the investigation, their arrest, prosecution, etc., please consider pardoning them of those, too.

Do the kind, merciful, and just thing as you end your term as Governor. Get on the right side of history!

Please pardon!

Parole Granted For Nevada Man Sentenced to Prison For Life

We last updated this case three years  ago in this posting. If you follow the links, you'll see that although the reporting is vague, from what little we were told, it appears  that this was likely a case of consensual (to be redundant) sex as the age of consent in Nevada is 16, and based on the charges that were and were not filed. The parole would  seem to back that up. If this had been an assault, then such a relatively (no pun intended) quick parole would be outrageous.

From ktvn.com...

A former Elko police captain who was convicted of incest and sentenced to prison for up to life in prison has been granted parole after serving four years.

Four years is certainly a lot less than life.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 with the possibility of parole after serving two years. The board turned him down in 2015.

And from Toni R. Milano at elkodaily.com...

Former Elko Police captain Aaron Hughes was granted parole 48 months after being convicted of incest and sentenced to life in prison.

According to the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, Hughes was granted parole Jan. 11. His earliest date of release from Lovelock Correctional Center is April 1.

That day might be appropriate.

“The Elko Police Department opposed an early release date and put comments in writing for various reasons,” said Police Chief Ben Reed on Monday.

“We have no outstanding issues,” he added.

Maybe those issues are that the people in the department felt embarrassed?

As a reminder, Nevada is one a handful of states that criminalizes sex between first cousins as "incest" and since reports don't indicate the relation, for all we know this was sex between first cousins. The female who was 17 then has to be around the age of 26 now an should be capable of speaking up to either support this or denounce it.



OKAY.... I was going to go ahead and publish this but, before I did, I did some of my own basic searching, and it turns out that this was with his daughter, who apparently wrote "romantic" messages to him (which became evidence and prompted the investigation in the first place). At the sentencing, she expressed how much turmoil had been brought into her life, but it seemed like that could have been referring to the criminal prosecution rather than the sex. I wonder what her thoughts about everything are now? This could very well be a situation involving Genetic Sexual Attraction, meaning he didn't raise her. We aren't told one way or the other if he did. Romantic letters don't really strike me as something that would be involved if he raised her and had custody, because they would have been used to face-to-face talking. One of the questions I have now is who is the person who claimed to find the romantic letter in Hughes' home and turned it over to police?  We know from an earlier report that someone by the name of Kimberly Harphant, an "acquaintance" of Hughes turned in evidence. Who is she? And what were her concerns? The 17-year-old's mother? A girlfriend or wife to Hughes unrelated to the 17-year-old? A daughter or stepdaughter of Hughes?

Updates on Two Criminal Cases

A sentence has been issued in this absurd prosecution of two adults in Zimbabwe for loving each other and (gasp!) being cousins! Here's a report from radiovop.com...

Two members of the Feremenga family from Dzivarasekwa Extension in Harare, whose incestuous relationship resulted in two pregnancies, were yesterday convicted and ordered to perform 630 hours of community service at different institutions in the suburb.

Robson (21) and Ashley Feremenga (19), whose fathers are blood brothers, pleaded guilty to incest charges when they appeared before Harare regional magistrate Adonia Masawi and were slapped with a 36-month prison term each.

But Masawi later suspended 18 months of their sentence on condition of good behaviour and again suspended the remainder on condition each of them performs 630 hours of community service.

Got that? If you break up your family, you can stay out of prison. Of course, the bigots in the neighborhood are going to have a field day being sadistic towards you anyway, and we won't stop that. Because, you know, you shouldn't be allowed to love each other.

The court was nonetheless, left in stitches when the two relatives insisted they wanted to stay together as a couple despite the implications of their unlawful relationship.

The cruelty is appalling. First cousins have been marrying for all of human history. Everyone involved in prosecuting these two should look into their heart, if they one, and clear it of this hatred.

The other update is about a case out of Nevada in which there was a sentencing a while back. I don't think the media ever specified the relationship, but my guess would be uncle-niece. This update comes from elkodaily.com reported by Dylan Woolf Harris.

Hughes isn’t specifically appealing his conviction, but instead the district court’s decision to allow prosecutors to use evidence gathered during a search of Hughes’ home. Leading up to trial, the defense filed a motion to suppress on grounds that a search warrant request wasn’t supported by probable cause, but District Judge Nancy Porter held that the warrant was supported and the prosecutor’s evidence was permissible.

The investigation and eventual search of Hughes’ home began in late 2008 after Kimberly Harphant, an acquaintance of Hughes, met with sheriff’s detective Kevin McKinney. She brought with her an unsigned, handwritten letter she said she took from Hughes’ home one day, as well as a prepared document of cut-and-pasted emails between Hughes and the victim.

Harphant had helped Hughes set up a business email account to which she remembered the password, and had lent him a phone. She was retrieving the phone when she found the letter, according to court documents.

The letter appeared to indicate romantic love between two people, but “in addition to a complete lack of attribution, it contains no references to a past or existing sexual relationship,” the brief states. Similarly, the emails’ authors were unverified and didn’t mention sex.

The appeal brief asserts McKinney made little attempt to corroborate or verify the items Harphant presented to him.

Interesting.

Update from February 2017.

New Episodes of Sister Wives

"Sister Wives," the TLC show featuring the polygynous Browns, is back. Are you watching? Here's an article from Ree Hines at today.com...

Kyle Christy / TLC

The Brown family, from left, Christine, Meri, Janelle, Robyn and Kody. 

Even though Kody Brown and his four wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn — have been open about how they live their lives for some time now, there are still those who have big problems with the polygamous family and aren't shy about saying so.

Some people are rude.

While the Brown family practices a very different sort of polygamy than that seen in Jeffs' church, it's a difference that's lost on some.

Some people are ignorant.

"I just feel like we live in a world of diversity, and we've chosen how to structure our family," Kody explained. "And we are not pushing it on other people. We don’t even push it on our children."

It's a live-and-let-live attitude he'd like to see from others.

That would be nice to have sooner rather than later. Let's make it happen!

Here's what was printed at radaronline.com...

A major theme this season for the Sister Wives is the decision that Meri must make about whether or not she wants to have another child with Kody, via IVF or using Robyn as a surrogate.

I think anything that puts a real face on consensual nonmonogamy is a good thing. We need more productions that depict the diversity withing polyamory and polygamy.


Okay, dear readers, what is your take? Are you watching?

Life Sentence in Nevada Case

Updating a case we last covered here, a man has been sentenced to life in prison (with the possibility of parole) in Nevada for "incest." Life is an appropriate sentence for rape. I had not previously seen any indication that this was rape, and he wasn't changed with with rape. Remember, the age of consent in Nevada is 16. Here's the the article at elkodaily.com by Dylan Woolf Harris...

A young woman — who five years earlier was a teenage victim of incest — testified Thursday in Elko District Court to the humiliation, anger and isolation she has suffered.
  
Rarely looking up and never at defendant Aaron Hughes, the victim tearfully read a letter she wrote for the court addressing how the crime affected her life.

“I have lost so much faith in what is good and what is true,” she said.

That sounds like she is describing being assaulted or abused. But...

The high profile case caused the victim humiliation from which she’s had trouble recovering, she said.

“I have convinced myself that I have moved on so many times only to have my feet ripped out from beneath me again and again,” she said. “This case has been continued for way too long. … I blame (Hughes) for his mistakes because I’m being dragged through the mud right behind him.”

That doesn't sound like abuse or assault. Those are not "mistakes," those are terrible deliberate acts. So this still sounds like it was consensual. At least of it was caught on video. If it was assault, then it should have been easy to prosecute him for that.

Porter, bound by statute to sentence Hughes to life in prison for incest with parole eligibility after two years, had the option of suspending the sentence and giving the defendant probation.

Porter denied granting Hughes probation, however.

“I think you understand why,” she said to the defendant.

Porter also denied a request by the defense to allow Hughes a one-day stay before being taken into custody. Hughes was cuffed and escorted out of the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies past the near-full courtroom gallery that included many law enforcement officers as well as Hughes’ and the victim’s family and friends.

Hughes had been a police officer.

Defense attorney Tammy Riggs called Dr. William O’Donohue, a licensed psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno to the stand as an expert witness. O’Donohue evaluated Hughes prior to the hearing and determined the defendant to be an extremely low risk to reoffend.

O’Donohue noted in his report that he didn’t find indicators in Hughes that typically precede relapse into deviant sexual behavior. He also said Hughes’ social personality, excellent impulse control, intelligence and otherwise healthy relationships would serve him well in recovery.

“The final strength is he is not in denial. One of the most difficult things we have in repeated sex offenders is they say it didn’t happen. He’s admitting that this happened,” O’Donohue said.

If it was consensual, he shouldn't have any reason to deny it, other than ridiculous laws against consensual sex.

Hughes was arrested in 2008. During an investigation related to stolen property allegations, sheriff’s deputies found a video depicting Hughes and a 17-year-old relative engaging in sexual acts.

No charge or conviction on stolen property?

So what do we have here. The woman didn't complain. Someone else found the video do to what may have been an unrelated investigation and that is how this became a case. Is that why she has suffered, because the law still criminalizes consensual sex in cases like this, and law enforcement chose to pursue this? From reading the full article and past articles on the case, it sounds like the woman would have been just fine if this case had never been brought, and Hughes would be harming nobody. She wasn't suffering in silence and he wasn't preying on anyone.

Is this a travesty? A waste of taxpayer resources? The needless destruction of several lives? We need consistency in our laws. If a young woman of 17 years of age can legally consent to group sex with complete strangers, why not with one person she knows and loves?

UPDATE from February 2017

Bigots Claim to Know Happy Home is Unhappy

Insulting as it may be, there are people who claim to know that the homes other people have made for themselves can't possibly be happy ones, no matter what the people in those homes say. Khusbu Bhakta reports at unlvrebelyell.com on an appearance by the Browns of "Sister Wives." The television personalities returned to UNLV to possibly open more minds.

Kody Brown from Sister Wives explaining his role in the show at the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium on Thursday, April 25, 2013. PHOTOS BY PAULINA ZENG/THE REBEL YELL

“The great thing about [polygamy] is that it was our choice,” said patriarch Kody Brown. He held his position during the panel in the center of his four wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Each time he spoke they looked at him in admiration.

The women were dressed in contemporary attire — high heels, black skirts and slacks and brightly colored tops. Their hair was blown out, their faces made-up and no bonnet in sight.

There are many flavors of polygamy and even more of polyamory.

A member of the crowd stood up and asked if the women were looking to Kody Brown for permission before they spoke.

Meri Brown heatedly grabbed the microphone and said she looks at her husband because she loves him and when she wants to speak she will. The audience applauded.

Women can and do freely choose to enter into polygynous relationships.

Update on Nevada Prosecution

A former police captain pleads guilty to incest. This is an update to this story and it ran at elkodaily.com. Dylan Woolf Harris reports...



Ross Andreson/Elko Daily Free Press

Despite facing the possibility of life in prison, Aaron Hughes pleaded guilty Monday to incest and will avoid a public trial and additional charges.

The 40-year-old former Elko police captain matter-of-factly admitted in court to having sex with a female relative.

“I entered into an act of fornication with a relative,” Hughes told District Judge Nancy Porter.

What a farce.

The judge will have few options when sentencing Hughes on March 25. By statute, defendants guilty of incest are to be sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after two years. However, Hughes will under go a pycho-sexual evaluation and if he’s deemed to be low risk for repeating the offense, he could be given probation instead of prison time.

Life sentences are appropriate for rape or child molestation, not for consensual sex or even statutory rape. Nevada law needs to be changed.

He will also be required to have lifetime supervision and register as a sex offender.

Absurd.

UPDATE: He was sentenced to life. Outrageous.

UPDATE from February 2017.

Polyamory Rising

Thanks in no small part to the Browns and their TLC television show, "Sister Wives," awareness of consensual polygamy (especially plural marriages) is increasing. The same goes for the Showtime's Polyamory show. Both shows and related media and discussion will contribute to relationship rights for poly people, including the freedom to marry and, ultimately, full marriage equality.

The Browns lead a forum at UNLV, prompting some news coverage. Here's a report from Paul Takahashi at lasvegassun.com...

Christopher DeVargas

Kody Brown, center, is flanked by two of his four ‘Sister Wives,” Christine, at left, and Meri, at right.

There are more than 850 societies around the world that practice polygamy, and an estimated 30,000 or more plural families living in the United States, Blumer said. However, because of a negative cultural stigma and legal concerns, most plural families live largely in secrecy.

When the Brown family came out to their monogamous friends relatives some 20 years ago, it strained relationships and broke some bonds.

The Browns also suffered repercussions when their family made national headlines after "Sister Wives" first aired. Meri lost her job, Kody lost a couple of advertising clients and Robyn had a difficult time finding work.

For a couple of years, the family also faced legal prosecution. 

How ridiculous it is that people perpetuate such bigotry.

No Plural Marriage Gonna Happen Here

Under full marriage equality, marrying more than one person should not be a criminal matter. However, an existing marriage partner should be informed if their partner is marrying someone else, and should be free to divorce if she or he disapproves.

From dailyjournal.net comes this report of a man facing criminal bigamy charges.

A woman contacted police to tell them that her husband had gone to Las Vegas and married another woman while he was still married to her, Edinburgh deputy police chief David Lutz said. She filed for divorce in February, but it has not been finalized.

Police obtained a marriage certificate from Nevada that showed that Penrod married a woman from Nineveh on March 2, Lutz said.

She had already filed for divorce. The only possible problem I see here is how the law splits up assets.

His new wife told police that the three of them had been living together and that they originally planned to live as polygamists after getting married in Las Vegas, Lutz said. His first wife told police that they separated in December after she learned of his relationship with the other woman, and that’s why she filed for divorce.

I wonder who is telling the truth? Was the first wife initially supportive of the relationship and later turned against it, using the law as revenge? Or did she have an agreement of monogamy with him that he violated? Was this cheating, or a polycule that disbanded? It is "she said vs. she said" as there is no quote from him in the article.

Able to Consent to Sex, But Not Being Recorded?

Here’s an interesting case out of Nevada, where the age of consent to sex is 16.

Elko District Court’s decision to dismiss Aaron Hughes’ child pornography charge was reversed Thursday by the Nevada Supreme Court.

Hughes, a former police captain, was arrested in December 2008 on a warrant charging incest and using a minor in the production of child pornography.

Authorities confiscated videos that were downloaded onto a computer as evidence in the case, which involved a 17-year-old relative.

So, a 17-year-old can consent to sex with a complete stranger, but not to sex with a relative or to be recorded during sex. Notice that Hughes is not accused of forcing himself on her.

At a preliminary hearing in January 2009, an affidavit from Hughes’ ex-wife indicated he was the man in the videos, although his face was not visible.

I wonder if she was the one who turned him in, and if she was already estranged from him before that?

Didn’t the 17-year-old commit incest, too?

According to the article, Hughes is also an accused thief. But the article doesn’t give enough information to know whether or not he’s a cheat. He may be a bad person. But the fact is, the age of consent in Nevada is 16, and the sex was consensual. I think it is unjust to prosecute for the consensual sex, or the recording of the consensual sex.

UPDATE from February 2017.

Another Example of "Sister Wives" Changing Minds

The good that the show “Sister Wives” is accomplishing is again demonstrated by Jacqueline Bur’s “'Sister Wives' Episode Changes My Mind About Polygamy.”

I can't get through an episode of HBO's polygamy drama Big Love without yelling, "You women have been brainwashed!" at the TV, so I never thought I'd end up sympathizing with the cast of TLC's polygamy reality show Sister Wives: Patriarch Kody Brown and wives Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn.

The difference, of course, is that "Big Love" was fictional.

Kody lost me right away when he called the idea of a woman with multiple husbands "vulgar."

It would be nice if he would express full solidarity instead of throwing polyandrists under the bus, but he isn’t alone. There are people in consanguinamorous relationships who throw poly people under the bus, there are LGBT people who throw the consanguinamorous people under the bus, and it is no surprise that there are polygynous people who would through polyandrists under the bus. We need solidarity so that we can get full marriage equality.

They seem like intelligent women, caring moms, and good friends to each other ... the only difference between us and them seems to be the mindset that husband-sharing is an acceptable option.

Polygyny, MFF triads, and other forms of “husband sharing” are acceptable options.

Last night's heartbreaking episode, however, made me realize that no matter how backward the notion of plural marriage may be, the legalization of polygamy seems like a good idea.

That’s very good! Thanks for the support of this freedom to marry.

She talks about the Browns enduring persecuting and having to flee law enforcement…

Watching those poor confused kids burst into tears every time they hear a police siren in the distance, well, that changed everything for me. Suddenly something clicked: Was this a present-day American reality show or a movie set in Nazi-era Germany? Hey, and wasn't the whole point of this country the escape of religious persecution?

It isn’t just religious persecution. It is denial of the freedom of association and an attempt to control our bodies. Neither the kids nor the adults should have to fear their own government will try to break up their family.

There were many comments left, some from allies, some from bigots, including people who say that grown women can’t possibly consent to polygyny.

Dannielle Richins is an ally…

The Browns Are Doing Some Good

Here’s another take on the family featured in “Sister Wives,” this time by Joyce C. Tang. Looks like the series is doing some good.

Polygamy aside, the Brown clan looks no different from your average Mormon—or Midwestern—family. They wear jeans and T-shirts (no Temple garments required) and have modern haircuts. Their kids are allowed to watch television, surf the Internet, and play video games, and some have attended public schools. And with boyish Kody as the patriarch, the Browns are a far cry from the terrifying images broadcast during the 2008 raids on Warren Jeffs’ Yearning For Zion ranch in Texas.

At 32, Robyn is the youngest wife to 40-year-old Kody. She and her “sister wives” are self-professed “outspoken” and “independent” women, and their brood of 16 children, currently being watched after by a team of grandmothers back in Nevada, appears happy and well-adjusted.

The more people see that nonmonogamous marriages can be good, the better.

“Our kids being able to be completely open has been liberating,” said Kody Brown.

Bigamy laws have meant that many polygamists grow up in hiding, with constant fear of being taken from their homes, losing their jobs, and being ostracized by their surrounding communities. Though Meri “felt very integrated into mainstream society” growing up as a polygamist Mormon, it was at the cost of “shar[ing] my whole truth,” she said.

The article gets into the family’s religion, though the family does not make their religion an issue in the show or the publicity for the show. Of the Apostolic United Brethren, which the article calls a splinter group of the LDS church…

Unlike the FLDS, Kingston, or LeBaron groups, which tend to be cloistered and abusive, the AUB, or as it's also known, the Allred group, aims to be more open to and integrated with mainstream society. In a 2008 public statement, the AUB outlined its disapproval of arranged or underage marriages and incest, discouraged members from government assistance, and claimed no affiliation with the FLDS.

I think the article may be broadbrushing in saying the groups cited “tend to be… abusive.”

Children are free to live a polygamist lifestyle once they’re older. Or not. One of the Browns’ own children—that is, one of Kody and Janelle’s children—has already decided she won’t, and that’s fine with her parents. Among the AUB, reported rates of child abuse are similar to those of monogamous communities, says Janet Bennion, a professor of anthropology at Lyndon State College who lived among Allreds to research her dissertation.

So there’s no boogeyman here.

Despite the bigamy investigation in Utah, it’s unlikely any charges will be brought against Kody, especially now that the family has relocated to Nevada. Paul Ryan, a spokesman from the Utah Attorney General’s office, told The Daily Beast that the office has “not focused on crimes involving consenting adults.”

They shouldn’t be crimes to begin with. Good for the AG of Utah.

The Brows should be able to get their marriage legally recognized. That would happen under full marriage equality.

Sister Wives is Back

Sunday's season premiere is 9 p.m. EDT. Set your DVR or plan to watch.

Many months ago I was sitting back and collecting coverage of TLC’s “Sister Wives” to gauge the show’s portrayal of polygyny and the public reaction to it, but I have yet to get around to writing up a reaction to the first season. If you have watched the show, please comment with your thoughts.

It has definitely raised awareness, which is a good thing as long as that awareness is not manipulated by the bigots. Reality television shows don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to how marriages are portrayed, or perhaps marriages don’t have a good track record of surviving such productions.

I’m sure that if the Browns experience a split, someone will cite them as an example of how polygyny doesn’t “work.” But the same people will be unlikely to cite “Jon and Kate” as proof that monogamy doesn’t work.

From the Associated Press…

It's easy to see that Kody Brown and his four wives share a closeness and a comfort zone and, yes, a sense of humor that keeps the conversation at a gallop.

Good!

They were tired of keeping secrets and living in fear. They were tired of the misconceptions and stereotypes that defined polygamy in many people's minds (including HBO's extreme polygamy drama "Big Love," which some of the Browns say they have watched and enjoyed).

"I went through high school hiding who I was," says Robyn, who wed Kody on last season's finale, bringing three children from her previous marriage into a brood that now numbers 16. "I shut people out because I didn't want to be labeled and made fun of."

How sad and unacceptable.

"We're not trying to proselyte our faith or our lifestyle," says Kody, who is legally married only to Meri, his wife of 20 years. "We're just looking for acceptance."

"And I think we're getting that," says Meri, with whom Kody has a 15-year-old daughter. "People will tell us, 'It's not for me. There's no way I could share my husband with somebody. But I am totally for you doing it, if that's what you want to do.'"

That’s good news.

"There have been a lot of people who have opposed it," Kody acknowledges. "They say they still think it's creepy."

There will always be bigots.

Whatever the seeming oddities (and super-sized proportions) that set the Browns apart from "normal" families, "Sister Wives" is most striking in the way it charts common ground with any other loving, busy family.

Going about their daily lives, sharing chores and outings, with bumps in the road, but also laughs, the Browns are relatable on many levels.

Tear down the walls of prejudice. We need more shows and more movies that portray banned marriages in a positive way.

"Kody maintains a good marriage with all of us - each one of us, individually," says Christine.

"He's a gentleman and he's very fair with us," says Meri.

It is outrageous that this family would be investigated. It is not acceptable that they are denied their freedom to marry before the law.

Nevada Man Charged With Incest

Here’s an example of a news item with too little information provided.

A 66-year-old Pahrump man is charged with lewdness and incest in a case involving a female relative, Nye County authorities said on Wednesday.

The article does not say the relative is a minor. The article does not say that he forced himself on his female relative. We have seen cases in which participants were both adults and consenting and somehow, information gets to law enforcement and the laws against such consensual sex are used against the participants. Is that happening here? We don’t know. There is a huge difference between someone molesting or raping a minor or assaulting or raping an adult... and consensual sex between adults. Which happened here? We don’t know.

Robin Gardner is being held on $50,000 bail.

Police said the crimes Gardner is accused of date back to June of this year.

If this isn’t a case consensual sex between adults, then throw the book at him. If it is a case of consensual sex between adults, this shouldn’t be a criminal issue.

What could the “lewdness” have been?