Tom Green (polygamist)

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For other people of the same name, see Tom Green (disambiguation).

Thomas Arthur ("Tom") Green is a Mormon fundamentalist in Utah who is a practitioner of plural marriage. After a high profile trial, Green was convicted by the state of Utah on May 18, 2001 of four counts of bigamy and one count of failure to pay child support. This decision was upheld by the Utah State supreme court in 2004.[1]

[edit] Religion

Green was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the 1980s, while in his thirties, Green converted to a type of Mormon fundamentalism which teaches that its adherents should practice plural marriage.[2] He was to eventually take five wives.

[edit] Trial and conviction

The prosecution, led by Juab County Attorney David Leavitt,[3] alleged that Green married teenagers, divorced them, and then collected the welfare payments they received as "single mothers" while he continued living with them.[2] Described as "Utah's first high-profile bigamy case in half a century,"[4] Green's trial attracted substantial national attention[5][6][7] and some international media coverage.[8]

On June 24, 2002, Green was convicted of child rape for having sex with 13 year old Linda Kunz, who is now his legal wife. Kunz, who refused to testify against Green at the trial, was born in 1973 and gave birth to her first child with Green in 1986. Green had four other "wives" and 33 children in all. Tom Green was sentenced to five years in prison for the first conviction, and five years to life in prison for the second conviction. Green was released from prison on parole on August 7, 2007.[9]

[edit] Documentary film

Green and his lifestyle was the subject of the British-made documentary One Man, Six Wives, and 33 Children[10] which was released in 2000 at the New York International Documentary Film Festival.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ State v. Green, September 3, 2004, accessed March 22, 2006
  2. ^ a b "Utah polygamist found guilty," May 19, 2001, CNN, accessed March 22, 2007
  3. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/11/16/48hours/main70628.shtml
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/24/national/main513227.shtml
  4. ^ CNN.com - Utah polygamist found guilty - May 19, 2001
  5. ^ LDS Newsroom - Tom Green, Polygamist coverage
  6. ^ Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . Polygamy . October 2, 1998 | PBS
  7. ^ Polygamist Will Appeal, Judge Gave Him Lightest Possible Sentence, Citing Wife's Support - CBS News
  8. ^ BBC News | AMERICAS | Polygamy on trial in Utah
  9. ^ CNN News, "Utah polygamist released from prison on parole after serving 6 years," August 7, 2007 (accessed 2007-08-08).
  10. ^ http://www.dfgdocs.com/Directory/Titles/949.aspx
  11. ^ village voice > film > Based on a True Story by Michael Atkinson

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Leaders in the Mormon fundamentalist movement
Recognized Mormon leaders1
Disputed Mormon leaders2
Early Mormon fundamentalist leaders
Leaders of the FLDS Church
Leaders of the AUB
Leaders of the Kingston Clan
Leaders of the ULDC
Independents and other leaders
Notes
1. Mormon leaders prior to the start of the fundamentalist movement and recognized by most fundamentalists as legitimate church leaders.
2. Mormon leaders that made changes to church policies on plural marriage. Fundamentalists hold a variety of views about each of these leaders, varying from the view that all were legitimate leaders to the view that all were illegitimate.