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Thread: Jerrod William Baum Given 4 Life Sentences Without the Possibility of Parole in 2018 UT Double Slaying

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    Jerrod William Baum Given 4 Life Sentences Without the Possibility of Parole in 2018 UT Double Slaying


    Murdered girl forced to watch boyfriend’s killing: prosecutors

    SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man forced a teenage girl to kneel and watch her boyfriend being beaten and stabbed before she was killed and thrown down an abandoned mine shaft, prosecutors said Tuesday.

    Jerrod W. Baum, 41, killed the couple moments after congratulating them because he believed they were expecting a baby, according to court documents.

    However, Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, 17, was not pregnant at the time of her death, prosecutors said.

    Utah County prosecutor Chad Grunander did not elaborate on why Baum believed Otteson was pregnant before he cut her throat.

    Baum has been charged with eight felonies, including two counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping and desecration of a human body. His attorney has not returned calls seeking comment.

    Baum could face the death penalty if convicted in the deaths of Otteson and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Riley Powell.

    Police say Baum killed the couple after they visited his girlfriend despite Baum’s warning against her having male visitors.

    The teens were missing for nearly three months before their bodies were found last week in the abandoned mine about 75 miles south of Salt Lake City.

    The break in the case came when Baum’s girlfriend Morgan Henderson was arrested in a separate case and led police to the bodies.

    Authorities believe Henderson witnessed the slayings. She is being held on suspicion of obstruction of justice, though Grunander did not rule out the possibility of additional charges.

    Henderson is the only other person under investigation in the deaths, he said. No attorney was available Tuesday on her behalf.

    Authorities are still investigating why she didn’t tell police what she knew sooner, though Grunander said she was threatened at one point.

    “We obviously wish she would have come forward earlier,” he said. “That would have saved additional grief for the family.”

    Grunander said the victims’ families haven’t decided if they want prosecutors to pursue capital punishment. If prosecutors don’t pursue the death penalty, Baum could face a minimum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

    https://nypost.com/2018/04/03/murder...g-prosecutors/

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    Man suspected of killing Tooele teens appears in court, families support death penalty

    By Katie England
    Daily Herald

    The man arrested for reportedly killing two Tooele teens and dumping their bodies down a remote mine shaft near Eureka could face the death penalty if convicted of the charges being pursued.

    Jerrod Baum, 41, of Mammoth, was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on March 28 after two bodies, later identified as Breezy Otteson, 17, and Riley Powell, 18, were recovered from a mine a few miles outside Eureka.

    Baum appeared in court for the first time Monday afternoon at Provo’s Fourth District Court before Judge Darold McDade.

    Led in to the courtroom separately from the others awaiting court appearances Monday, Baum quietly answered questions from the judge as to whether he understood the charges against him, and informed the judge he hadn’t worked a job in some time.

    Baum will be appointed a public defender and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 26.

    Prior to the court appearance Monday afternoon, the Utah County Attorney’s Office held a press conference announcing the charges they will be seeking against Baum.

    Utah County deputy attorney Chad Grunander said they are filing two aggravated murder charges against Baum, which allows for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

    The decision about whether the death penalty will be sought will be made at a later date, Grunander said, and prosecutors will have to declare whether or not they will seek the death penalty within a certain number of days after Baum enters a plea.

    “The case is still developing, the investigation is ongoing,” Grunander said. “We look at the heinousness of the crime — the depravity — that’s one of the factors we would look at to make this aggravated murder.”

    After Baum’s court appearance, family members of the two teens said they support seeking the death penalty.

    Bill Powell, father of Riley Powell, said he wanted the death penalty sought in the case, and he wanted it implemented sooner rather than later.

    “These kids have no life,” Bill Powell said. “He doesn’t deserve a life. We as the taxpayers don’t need to support him and give him a life, because he took life.”

    Powell’s younger sister, Nikka Powell, 17, said her reaction upon seeing Baum walk into the courtroom was “I wanted to stab him.”

    “My brother didn’t deserve this, and neither did she,” Nikka Powell said through tears. “They had a whole life to live. She was only 17. He was 18. Me and my brother were so close, and I was so close to Breezy. We did everything together. And it’s just hard to actually realize that they’re gone now. Really gone.”

    According to the probable cause document filed in court, Baum’s girlfriend, Morgan Henderson, told law enforcement that Baum was jealous the teens had visited her the night they went missing, Dec. 29.

    Henderson told police, according to court documents, that Baum then bound the teens’ hands and feet, duct taped their mouths and put them in the back of Powell’s Jeep.

    Baum then drove to a remote location near Eureka, killed the teens in Henderson’s presence and dumped their bodies in the open mine shaft, according to the probable cause statement.

    Baum beat Powell before stabbing him, the probable cause statement said. Otteson was forced to kneel and watch the beating before her throat was cut and she was also thrown into the mine.

    Henderson also told police that Baum was acting under the belief that Otteson was pregnant when he killed her.

    “(Baum) offered to Brelynne and Riley his congratulations as they walked from the car to the open mine shaft,” the probable cause statement says.

    Grunander said prosecutors do not believe Otteson was pregnant.

    According to the probable cause statement, Baum later told Henderson he felt bad about killing Otteson because she was “innocent.”

    Otteson’s aunt, Amanda Hunt, said the details of the probable cause statement came as a shock, causing the family to relive the loss.

    “I can’t even fathom what went through the kids’ heads that night,” Hunt said.

    The families have planned two memorial services, one in Eureka on Saturday and one in Tooele on April 14. More information about those services can be found on the Justice For Breezy and Riley Facebook page.

    Grunander said the only other person who may face charges in the case is Henderson, who was booked in the Utah County Jail over the weekend on an obstruction of justice charge.

    “We will see what she gets charged with,” Grunander said. “We’ll see how these cases proceed along first off, OK? We first need to make the determination to charge her, and that hasn’t been completed, there are no charging document filed.”

    Grunander said if they receive information and they believe they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Henderson was an accomplice in the murders, they will charge her accordingly, but said it’s a question for another day.

    Grundander said Henderson could use coercion as a possible defense.

    “(Henderson) was threatened at one point,” Grunander said.

    Baum is currently being held at the Utah County Jail without bail.

    https://www.heraldextra.com/news/loc...d09a68cc1.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    Justice for Riley and Breezy could take years

    The family of two teens murdered in Eureka are prepared for a long battle to get justice.

    Riley Powell and Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson were found murdered in an abandoned mine last month near Eureka. A day later, Jerrod Baum was charged with multiple felonies including two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.

    The charges are death penalty eligible. But the Utah County district attorney will decide at a later date whether to pursue the death penalty.

    Thursday’s hearing was postponed because attorneys needed more case-related documents before proceeding.

    Riley’s father, Bill Powell made the long journey from Eureka only to hear about the continuance.

    “It looks like it’s going to be a long drawn out process,” said Powell afterwards. “I’d just like to see it done with and over quick and find him guilty and done away with him.”

    Amanda Hunt and her family left Tooele early to make the 90-minute drive.

    “We knew it was going to be long and drawn out,” said Hunt. “We knew it wasn’t going to be quick and fast. There’s no settling for this. The kids need justice.

    Thursday the judge wanted to make sure that Baum would have experienced attorneys who have dealt with the death penalty.

    Baum has four public defenders as part of his team and the judge learned two of those attorneys are death penalty attorneys.

    Riley and Breezy were both stabbed to death. Baum allegedly murdered Riley and prosecutors said he forced Breezy to watch it before being stabbed to death.

    Chad Grunander, assistant Utah County attorney said there are criteria for a death penalty. He said the strength of the case, the defendant’s criminal history and family input go into that decision.

    “We’re committed to justice,” said Grunander. “Sometimes justice is a moving target as the case moves along. But we’re committed to justice in this case and we don’t know what that is yet.”

    It appears one of those conditions has already been met. The families of Riley and Breezy are endorsing the death penalty if there is a conviction.

    "We’re definitely for that,” said Powell. “And I want to help because I have that right."

    Baum will return to court in August for a scheduling conference. His preliminary hearing date could possible be set then. But as far as the trial is concerned, Hunt and Powell will have to wait even longer.

    “It could be another year, maybe two years,” said Grunander.

    http://www.good4utah.com/news/justic...ars/1143143364
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    Girlfriend of man accused of murdering Utah teens faces 28 new charges

    By Cody Blowers
    St. George News

    ST. GEORGE — Morgan Henderson is facing additional felony charges for obstructing justice for her role in the murder of two Utah teens that went missing a few days after Christmas 2017.

    The new charges, which were filed Monday by the Utah County Attorney’s Office, stem from the disappearance and murder of Riley Powell and Brelynn “Breezy” Otteson, both 18, who went missing when the two left Tooele in a 1999 blue Jeep Grand Cherokee to return home to Eureka on the morning of Dec. 30. They were never seen or heard from again.

    Henderson, 34, was later arrested on allegations she interfered with the investigation and was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice at the end of March after detectives located the bodies of the two teens in the Tintic Standard Mine No. 2, located in Dividend, according to a statement released March 31 by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

    The 28 additional felony charges are also for obstruction of justice, with each charge reflecting a separate lie Henderson allegedly told police, multiplied by two, “one for each murdered victim,” Utah County Attorney Randy Kennard II said in the probable cause statement filed Monday.

    Henderson’s boyfriend, 41-year-old Jerrod William Baum, of Eureka, was arrested on two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and abuse of a human body, along with a single count of obstructing justice, witness tampering and possession of dangerous weapon by restricted person. He is being held without bail.

    In January, police conducted multiple interviews with Henderson, who initially denied having any knowledge of the teens’ whereabouts, Kennard said in court documents.

    Then she began changing her story, telling police in January that the teens were at her home in Mammoth the night they disappeared but that she had no idea what had happened to them once they left. She told police as late as Jan. 30 that neither she nor Baum had anything to do with the teens’ disappearance.

    Henderson also provided false information to authorities, including a statement she made during an interview that the victims had ‘ripped off some Mexicans,’ while in another statement she told police that one of the teens was on methamphetamine, while in yet another she said one of the teens told her they just wanted to “disappear.”

    All the while, the teens’ families and friends searched for them throughout Utah, and the case garnered national attention as those searches continued for nearly 90 days until the bodies were discovered.

    Police said that after the discovery Henderson admitted that she had been present on or about Dec. 30 when Baum “murdered the victims at the mouth of the mine and then threw their bodies into the shaft.”

    Henderson also provided further details of the crime that were corroborated by the evidence uncovered during the investigation.

    Henderson told police that Baum caught the teens at the couple’s residence after he warned her on previous occasions not to have male visitors at the house without him being present, according to court documents.

    She went on to say Baum then bound the teens in their Jeep before driving them to an abandoned mine where he killed them and threw their bodies down the mine shaft.

    Henderson is scheduled to appear at the 4th District Court in Provo for a preliminary hearing Aug. 15. She remains in the custody of the Utah County Jail on $100,000 cash-only bail.

    Henderson’s attorney, Spencer Thomas in Provo, told St. George News Wednesday that he “didn’t really wish to comment on the matter.”

    Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

    This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings, and the report will be further updated as information becomes available.

    https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/ar.../#.W0dwnC17TBI
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    Murder defendant's girlfriend pleads guilty to obstruction

    By Associated Press

    PROVO, Utah – The girlfriend of a man accused of killing a teenage couple cried Friday while listening to relatives of the victims in a Provo. Utah, courtroom where she pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to jail and probation.

    The Daily Herald reported that 35-year-old Morgan Henderson of Mammoth will serve three years in jail or until authorities resolve the pending murder case against 41-year-old Jerrod Baum.

    Henderson was also sentenced to five years of probation.

    Baum awaits trial in the killings of 18-year-old Riley Powell and 17-year-old Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson in December. He's accused of throwing their bodies in an abandoned mine shaft.

    Court documents allege he acted out of jealousy.

    None of his attorneys at the Utah County public defender's office were immediately available for comment Friday.

    Henderson initially denied knowing about the long-missing teens' whereabouts, but after her March 24 arrest on drug and weapons charges she told police where the bodies were dumped.

    Henderson cried as she sat in the courtroom's jury box listening to statements from the family members.

    "There are no words to describe the way that I feel," said Amanda Hunt, Otteson's aunt, as she brushed away her own tears. "Morgan deprived us of the closure we desperately needed and wanted."

    Henderson pleaded guilty to 10 counts of felony obstruction of justice. An additional 20 counts were dismissed under a plea deal with prosecutors.

    Henderson agreed to cooperate in the continuing investigation and the court case against Baum.

    Powell's father, Bill Powell, and his younger sister, Nikka Powell, 18, agreed they were not going to give up in pursuing justice against Baum.

    "We've got a long road ahead of us, and so we have to keep plugging along and get it done, no matter how long it takes," Bill Powell said.

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/murder-de...to-obstruction
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    Baum pleads not guilty to Juab Co. teens’ murders, death penalty on the table

    Jerrod Baum pleaded not guilty to new charges leveled against him.

    During a brief court appearance on Monday, Baum entered a plea to charges of aggravated murder, a capital offense; aggravated kidnapping, a 1st-degree felony; abuse and desecration of a body, obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon by a restricted person.

    "Not guilty," he said each time 4th District Court Judge Derek Pullan read a charge.

    Utah County prosecutors now have 60 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty against him. Utah County Attorney David Leavitt told reporters outside of court he anticipated a decision by late July.

    "It's too early to tell at this point," he said.

    Baum is charged in connection with the deaths of 17-year-old Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson and 18-year-old Riley Powell. The two disappeared in 2017. Baum is accused of tying them up, killing them and throwing their bodies down an abandoned mine shaft. Their bodies were recovered in March 2018.

    Prosecutors allege Baum was angry because the couple had been visiting with his girlfriend.

    Leavitt said no plea deal is being negotiated right now, but acknowledged the death penalty could motivate one. However, he said he would consult with Otteson and Riley's families before deciding any of that.

    The families told FOX 13 they supported executing Baum, if he were to be convicted.

    "They didn't get a choice. They didn't get a voice," Bill Powell, Riley's father, said. "They were prisoners and brutally murdered. He deserves the same."

    "Right now, it's death penalty," said Otteson's aunt, Amanda Hunt.

    "Yesterday," Bill Powell added.

    Baum will return to court in August.

    (source: Fox News)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Edited:

    Death penalty sought for Utah man accused of killing two teens, dropping their bodies in a mine shaft


    By Jessica Miller
    The Salt Lake Tribune

    Provo - Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man charged with killing 18-year-old Riley Powell and 17-year-old Brelynne "Breezy" Otteson in 2017.

    Jerrod William Baum, 42, is accused in court papers of forcing Breezy to kneel before a mine shaft and watch as Baum beat and stabbed her 18-year-old boyfriend to death. He then allegedly cut the girl’s throat and threw them both into an open mine.

    The deaths, authorities have said, were driven by Baum’s anger that the teen couple had come to his Mammoth home Dec. 29, 2017, and smoked marijuana with his then-girlfriend, Morgan Lewis.

    Lewis — who has been a key witness to investigators and led them to the mine where the bodies had been stashed — testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this year that Baum had forbidden her from having male friends.

    Baum faces two charges of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and other crimes. Utah County Attorney David Leavitt’s Wednesday announcement about seeking the death penalty came as the legal deadline for that decision neared.

    Leavitt noted the power he held as the elected county attorney to seek the ultimate penalty, saying he wants to leave it to a jury to decide whether Baum is executed.

    “I am going to give power back to people, in the form of juries, to decide,” he said. “It is the jury’s role to determine the guilt or innocence of this alleged killer. If they find him guilty, then it is the jury’s role to decide whether he should receive the death penalty or not.”

    As Leavitt made the announcement, relatives of Breezy and Riley sat in the front row and wiped tears from their eyes.

    The death penalty is what they’ve wanted from the beginning, said Breezy’s aunt, Amanda Hunt.

    “That’s the one thing we were sure of,” she said. “These kids didn’t get to choose their life, they didn’t get to fight. So why should he get an option to live?”

    The families also recognized that pushing for Baum’s execution will be no easy feat. In Utah, there are death row inmates who were convicted decades ago who still have no execution date as they appeal their convictions. Leavitt noted the last time Utah County prosecutors secured a death penalty conviction. It was 1984 — and Ron Lafferty is still alive and at the Utah State Prison.

    But Riley’s father, Bill Powell, said they’ve been fighting for their kids since the day they went missing. They searched for months for the teens, combing through the hills surrounding Eureka looking for any clues about what happened to them.

    “We put a long time, a lot of miles into trying to find them,” Riley’s father said, “and now we’ve got a lot more miles to go in the judicial system to get what needs to be done done. That’s what we’re here for.”

    Baum’s ex-girlfriend, who has also gone by the name Morgan Henderson, told a harrowing tale from the witness stand during Baum’s preliminary hearing in March.

    She detailed how Baum had tied up the two teens and put them in the back of Riley’s Jeep, before driving Lewis and the young couple to the abandoned mine shaft known as Tintic Standard No. 2.

    The woman recounted how Baum forced her to her knees in what she described an "execution style" pose, and pushed Breezy down to her knees as well.

    Lewis testified that she looked on as Baum began stabbing Riley multiple times until the young man stopped breathing.

    Baum then turned to Lewis and Breezy, the woman testified, and walked behind them. He held the teen girl in his arms, Lewis said, then slit her throat. Baum threw the teens’ bodies down the 1,800-foot mine shaft, according to Lewis. The bodies landed on a ledge about 100 feet down.

    Lewis initially lied to police after they came to question the couple once Riley and Breezy had been reported missing. But after she was pulled over by police for an unrelated reason, she decided to tell investigators what she saw.

    In late March 2018, Lewis led investigators to the mine shaft, and authorities were able to extract the teens’ bodies.

    She testified against Baum as part of a plea deal after she pleaded guilty to 10 counts of obstructing justice for lying to police as they tried to investigate Riley and Breezy's disappearance. She is now serving a three-year sentence in the Utah County jail.

    https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/07/...y-sought-utah/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Deseret News fights to keep hearing in double-murder case open to public

    Circumstance don’t meet high standard for closure of a court hearing, newspaper argues

    The Deseret News is seeking a judge’s order allowing the public to attend an upcoming court hearing in the murder case for a man charged with killing a teenage couple and dumping their bodies in an abandoned mine shaft.

    Attorneys for the newspaper intervened in the high-profile potential death penalty case for Jerrod William Baum after a judge last month ordered the closure of the July 15 hearing, where Utah County’s top prosecutor and former attorney general candidate is expected to defend himself against an allegation of contempt.

    In closing the hearing, 4th District Judge Derek Pullan cited concerns from defense lawyers that publicity would conflict with the right to a fair trial. He later allowed the Deseret News to intervene and argue its case for reopening the proceeding.

    While attorneys have long argued that news coverage will taint jury pools, no case in Utah has ever been reversed on appeal for that reason, lawyers for the newspaper note.

    “No one disputes that ensuring a fair trial for a criminal defendant is a compelling government interest,” David Reymann, an attorney for the Deseret News, wrote in a motion to open the hearing. “But this is not the first high-profile criminal trial in Utah, nor will it be the last.”

    Reymann said closing the hearing isn’t necessary because attorneys have tools like jury questionnaires, which allow them to weed out potential jurors who have already decided a defendant’s guilt or innocence based on news coverage or online chatter.

    The legal standard to close the hearing requires specifics pointing to a significant likelihood of prejudice, he argued in court documents, not just broad assertions. For the same reason, several sealed court filings in the case also should be made public, Reymann wrote in the motion.

    Baum has pleaded not guilty to 2 counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Riley Powell and Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson. A six-month trial is set to begin in March 2021.

    The hearing next week will focus on an arguments from defense attorneys that Utah County Attorney David Leavitt violated a gag order in the case and should be held in contempt.

    Baum’s lawyers allege Leavitt flouted the order by maintaining a video on his public Facebook page of his announcement to seek the death penalty for Baum. In the video, Leavitt said that a star witness in the case is credible “based on a lot of evidence that the jury will never hear.”

    The public has a significant interest in knowing what happens in a contempt proceeding against a sitting public official, even outside of a high-profile case, Reymann said.

    “The fact that it’s happening inside a capital case makes it even more significant,” he said.

    “We believe it’s important to shine a light on what happens in court cases, particularly cases like this one that involve elected officials, two people who were brutally killed and a man who faces a potential death penalty,” said Deseret News Editor Doug Wilks.

    A defense attorney for Baum did not respond to a request for comment.

    Prosecutors in Utah County and private attorneys for Leavitt did not oppose the closure of the hearing.

    In closing the hearing, Pullan said the debate expected to take place “involves the disclosure of certain statements to the public which by their nature may taint the jury pool and this significantly implicates Mr. Baum’s right to a fair trial,” in addition to the state’s right to a fair jury trial.

    He said he sought to preserve those rights and avoid disseminating statements further to the jury pool. The newspaper pointed out in its motion that the statements in question have already been made public.

    Pullan’s earlier 2019 gag order in the case followed Leavitt’s comments about his decision to seek the death penalty during a news conference. The order directed attorneys in the case to abide by an existing professional conduct code that prohibits public statements that would harm a person’s right to a fair trial, but allows some information to be shared.

    Leavitt has said he should not have made the comment about the witness because it touched on facts in the case against Baum. But Leavitt said he doesn’t believe it would have any effect and noted he had the video taken down when a prosecutor on his staff brought the defense’s claims to his attention.

    The county attorney’s office has argued that Leavitt corrected the oversight and his statement at the news conference predated the gag order. It said continued proceedings on the issue “will result in renewed interest in and dissemination of the press conference video.”

    (source: Deseret News)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Utah County attorney’s flub should take death penalty off table in double murder case, defense says

    Defense attorneys in Provo say Utah County’s top prosecutor violated a gag order in a double-murder case. They want him found in contempt.

    But instead of jail time or a fine for Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, the public defenders are seeking a different sort of sanction. They want the death penalty off the table for Jerrod William Baum, their client who denies charges that he slit the throats of a teen couple, Riley Powell and Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, and dumped their bodies into an abandoned mineshaft.

    A judge did not immediately rule at the conclusion of a hearing that spanned more than four hours Wednesday afternoon, wherein Leavitt strongly denied that a video of an old news conference on his official Facebook page went against the gag order.

    Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan did issue another decision, however. At the outset of the hearing, he reversed course from an earlier ruling and sided with the Deseret News, finding the public and press had a right to attend.

    Pullan in June ordered the hearing closed at the request of defense attorneys, who said publicity would threaten Baum’s right to a fair trial. He later allowed the newspaper to intervene and argue for reopening.

    Attorney Jeremy Brodis argued Wednesday for the Deseret News that defense attorneys failed to give specifics on how news coverage would cause any substantial likelihood of tainting the jury pool in the populous county. He also noted the evidence up for debate was already public and widely disseminated in the news.

    Defense Attorney Mike Brown countered that the press and public had nothing to gain by tuning into the hearing since Leavitt’s statements are already public. But he said further dissemination of Leavitt’s comments would impact his client’s right to a fair trial.

    But if the hearing were secret, Brodis argued, people wouldn’t know the evidence supporting a judge’s eventual ruling in a contempt case against a sitting public official.

    “It still would be missing a crucial piece,” he said.

    https://www.ksl.com/article/50000236...e-defense-says
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    Judge declines to hold Utah County’s top prosecutor in contempt over Facebook video in death penalty case

    A judge in Provo has declined to hold Utah County’s top prosecutor in contempt over video of an old news conference that remained on his official Facebook page following a gag order for attorneys in a high-profile, double-murder case.

    Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan issued the written ruling Friday, dealing a blow to defense lawyers who raised the contempt allegation against Utah County Attorney David Leavitt.

    As punishment, they sought to have the death penalty taken off the table for Jerrod Baum, accused of slitting the throats of teen couple Riley Powell and Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson in 2018 and dumping their bodies in an abandoned mine shaft.

    Pullan wrote that he “cannot find by clear and convincing evidence that it was the conscious objective” of Leavitt to violate the order. Even if Leavitt had purposely flouted the gag order, Pullan continued, Baum’s lawyers didn’t show that a prohibition on the death penalty was needed to address the harm.

    Attorneys for Baum did not immediately provide comment.

    In July 2019, Leavitt announced he would allow a jury to decide whether Baum, if convicted, should face the death penalty. In responding to a reporter’s question, he said his office believed a star witness in the case “based on a lot of evidence that the jury will never hear.”

    In response to the comment, Pullan ordered attorneys in the case to adhere to a professional standard prohibiting them from giving out new information that could prejudice a jury, while still allowing them to make some statements.

    Baum’s defense attorneys alleged Leavitt violated the order by failing to take down Facebook video of the July news conference until months later.

    Although Leavitt delegated the handling of social media, he is the one who runs the office, defense attorney Mike Brown argued last month. Brown argued that taking the death penalty off the table is the most appropriate remedy.

    Leavitt countered that he believed his office had already hidden the video from the public and was surprised to learn it was still there months later. He said he “walled” himself off from the case following the gag order and had an employee oversee it instead.

    https://www.ksl.com/article/50004772...h-penalty-case
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