Wanda Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in prison today in Salt Lake City for her part in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, with her seven years already served factored in. She pleaded guilty to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines.
When Barzee refused to take medication prescribed by a psychiatrist in 2006, a judge ordered her to be forcibly medicated with anti-psychotic drugs in order to restore her to a level of competency to stand trial. She will likely serve her sentence at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, so that she can continue to get treatment for her mental illness.
She was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball to serve 5 years probation following her prison term and register as a sex offender. Barzee will be 70 when she is released.
The sentence was part of a plea bargain that stipulates that Barzee will testify in the state and federal cases against her estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell, who was recently determined to be competent to stand trial. His federal trial is set for November 1.
When given an opportunity to speak, Barzee said, “I know the gravity of my crimes and how serious they are. I’m just so sorry for all the pain and suffering I caused the Smart family.”
Lois Smart spoke directly to her daughter’s captor in court for the first time. She said, “Wanda, what you did to our family and to our girl Elizabeth was wrong. It was wrong and it was evil. Wanda. we suffered, but more than that, Elizabeth suffered. She was tortured and tormented.”
Elizabeth was abducted from her bed at knife-point in 2002 and taken to a mountain campsite were she was forced into a polygamous marriage and held captive for nine months. She testified against Wanda Barzee in court last fall.
Smart, a Mormon, is now 22-years-old, and is currently serving on an LDS mission in Paris.
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Photos: WENN, PicApp