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MORMON MARRIAGES

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 10, 1879

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 54, No. 3.

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MORMON MARRIAGES.

REYNOLDS, THE FIRST MORMON CONVICTED OF POLYGAMY, ON HIS WAY TO THE NEBRASKA PENITENTIARY.—MILES' CASE TO BE CARRIED TO THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
Omaha, Neb., June 18.—George Reynolds, formerly private secretary of the late Brigham, and the first Mormon convicted of bigamy under the United States laws of 1862, arrived here this afternoon from Salt Lake City in charge of George A. Black, formerly Secretary of State of Utah, and Shaughnessy, brother of the United States Marshal. He will be taken to the Nebraska Penitentiary, at Lincoln, to-morrow. The sentence was two years' imprisonment and $500 fine. The case has been pending since October, 1874, and has been made a test case of the constitutionality of the anti-polygamy laws. It was finally settled by the Supreme Court of the United States on the 6th day of January last, the judgment of the lower court being affirmed, where he was first sentenced to imprisonment, and hard labor ordered. In re-sentencing, the hard labor portion was omitted. Reynolds was selected for a test case, as he had been previously married, and could not plead statute limitation. The case was fought very hard, every step bringing out every legal point possible.
Miles, another Mormon recently found guilty, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. These two are the only convictions obtained thus far. Miles' case will be carried to the United States Supreme Court on several points not developed in the previous case. Reynolds is reticent as to the effect of the convictions on the policy of the Mormon Church, and says he is not authorized to express any opinion. The officers say the prosecutions will continue.
The leaders of the church will not be interfered with, as they can plead statute limitation. Any new cases of polygamy, where the difficulty surrounding secret marriages according to the forms of the Mormon Church can be overcome, will be prosecuted to conviction and punishment according to the rules. In the Nebraska Penitentiary, Reynolds will wear the prison costume and be put to work immediately.—Inter-Ocean.