# Brian David Mitchell found GUILTY of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690 "2010-12-10T19:07:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690/21 "2010-12-13T14:22:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’m impressed that Ms. Smart has emerged from this apparently together, strong and self-confident. That was my immediate impression, too. in highly publicized rape cases, it seems like victims rarely release their own identities to the press. But here she is after having suffered through _months of sexual slavery_ - not just with her name and face out there, but actually taking considerable time to speak publicly, and with great poise and class. She is one tough cookie. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690/22 "2010-12-13T14:31:42Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > If we accepted the “God made me do it” excuse for criminal behavior, our entire justice system would fail. Either 1) God really did command Mitchell to kidnap and rape a little girl, or 2) he is faking the whole prophet/nutjob act, or 3) he is pretty nutty but able to recognize that his actions were wrong and illegal, or 4) he is completely insane and cannot be held accountable for anything. The jury decided on (3), based on some pretty compelling arguments from the shrinks. Anyone who wants to use God as an excuse for the illegal acts they commit should be forcd to move to a country where they can live under a theocracy. WARNING: Those places are just plain horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690/23 "2010-12-13T14:43:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Every time I see a picture of her, I want to put my arms around her. Yeah, THAT’S what victims of this kind of crime like to hear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690/24 "2010-12-13T15:29:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’m impressed that Ms. Smart has emerged from this apparently together, strong and self-confident. I want to second this. And give credit to her family, as well as herself. The things she was doing with journals show just how strong and determined she was as a young teen. The way her family worked with her when she was returned to them took what was a good foundation and built from there. So many people fail in supporting victims for the long term. ISTM that this is clearly not the case here. I admire her and her family. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690/25 "2010-12-13T15:51:20Z")
Great respect due to Miss Smart and her family for their strength and courage, and to the Court and jury for dealing justice. There is a space, indeed, in the legal structure for a jury to in effect rule: _“A wackjob, YET still guilty anyway”_, even if not worded that way, and it’s probably a very common line of thought in cases like this (and IMO the success of the insanity defense is mythologically overestimated in public perception). Mitchell’s _actions_ suggest a degree of criminal purposefulness, however delusional his alleged _motivations_, that requires facing trial and punishment. > [@Simplicio](#): > > I like how the prosecutions arguments seem to boil down to “he’s not crazy, just mormon”. I do suppose that in the proper sociocultural environment jurors are receptive to a reminder that a lot of people who say they hear God speak to them, don’t get into criminal behavior over it. > [@Ludovic](#): > > I hate the part of me that feels that way , but I can’t help the feeling. Life in prison it is. Good for you that you recognize the negative nature of that feeling; only you know if it would have felt better to vent it overtly instead of “in code”. > [@phouka](#): > > he’s a human being and is allotted the same civil rights as you and I. In order to protect our own civil rights, we must recognize his. > > So, life in jail, appropriate medical care, and absolutely no chance to ever harm another innocent. That. In my case, with apologies, I skip the “technically” modifier in **phouka** ’s post, and just leave it as he _ **IS** _ a human being. A horrible, twisted, human being but one nonetheless as only humans can be guilty of crimes and atrocities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-david-mitchell-found-guilty-of-kidnapping-elizabeth-smart/563690.md?page=1)