![]() In the course of my life there, I was being asked to do things that I couldn't do, I wouldn't do because I felt the desire and the conviction that I was responsible for what I did. I want choices for my children, for my grandchildren. That very empowering, really, to hear that. I hadn't heard that until now, what the judge had said. What did you want the court public to know about your life in Bountiful and the life of your children? She was impartial." That you gave you testimony in such a style that was so convincing it had a great effect on the judge and on her decision. Blackmore, she said that your testimony was so credible that, and this is a quote, "There was nothing contrived or rehearsed in her answers. Judge Donegan, during the conviction of Mr. They didn't have the wherewithal to make a different life for themselves should they choose to in the community.īlackmore shares a laugh with six of his daughters and some of his grandchildren Monday, April 21, 2008, near Creston, B.C. I was fortunate in the fact that my older daughters were not married into polygamous families, but they were young and, you know, their marriages were arranged. I have two older daughters and they were married when they were just barely, barely 17. ![]() I was just desperate to not feel responsible for what was going on for women and children in the community. I had a nine-year-old daughter. I felt like if I waited any longer it would be more difficult for me to protect her and provide a life for her that I felt I wanted, and for myself. I felt like I was doing it for them, and doing it for me, and doing it for my daughters, my sons. You did it for those women that you couldn't help for so many years - the other wives of your former partner - you did it for them. Jane Blackmore, former Bountiful resident I would definitely like for future generations to have a choice with what they believe, what they read, what they wear, who they marry, what kind of education they receive. And in the position I was in, with being the first wife of the leader of the community, and caregiver for many women in the community, I didn't feel like I could protect them. I could see many, many difficult situations women were in. That was among them, for sure.ĭuring my life, I've been in a position where I had the confidence and the responsibility of caring for women, and during my time in the community, I felt like my hands were tied. I've done many difficult things in my life. ![]() How difficult was that to you to testify, to speak truth to that? Winston Blackmore, left, and James Oler were each charged with one count of polygamy. Many people, especially women and children, were being hurt and I feel like it needs to be stopped. I was convinced many years ago that I didn't believe in what was going on and felt it was wrong. I was subpoenaed - but obviously I couldn't have been forced to talk about my former partner.īut I felt like it was important to speak my truth. Why did you agree to testify against Winston Blackmore? I'm 61 years old and the controversy regarding polygamy and the community of Bountiful has been my whole life. She left the fundamentalist Christian polygamist community in 2003 and fled to Cranbrook, B.C., where As It Happens host Carol Off reached her Friday.ĭid you think that you would see this day? She was also Bountiful's midwife. Oler is her half-brother. They have seven children together, and 46 grandchildren. Jane Blackmore was Winston Blackmore's first wife of more than two dozen - and the only one who testified against him court. She married him when she was 18. Supreme Court judge ruled Canada's polygamy laws are constitutional, rejecting the argument from Bountiful, B.C., polygamists Winston Blackmore and James Oler, who claimed the law violated their charter rights. Jane Blackmore says Friday's ruling upholding her ex-husband's polygamy conviction was "a long time coming."Ī B.C.
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