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Show Thursday, January 19, 1989 Chronicle - Page Six I Bel-A- mi Jean de Montreux. Were authorities negligent y While skiing at the feet of the Uintas, My friend, Dr. Edmund Evans, asked me what I murder trial jury thought about the Singer-Swap- p decision. The jury's verdict was less severe than the public expected (Adam Swapp and Timothy Singer were convicted of manslaughter and Jonathan Swapp of negligent homicide). Aside from disappointments of the aggrieved widow of Officer John House, the case is officially closed and remanded to the annals of the state's vast folkloric tales. I am an "embryo lawyer." Certainly any thoughts I have on the subject cannot be construed as expert legal analysis. However, based on what little law I have read, and driven by a relentless curiosity to transfer my understanding of the law everywhere, I fantasized for the next 12 miles of gliding over the ultra-sof- t, immaculate white snow. I imagined myself clad in double-breaste-d blue wool suit and power-re- d necktie. With my voice at its thundering best, I assumed the defense counsel's role in the murder trial of the Singer-Swap- p clan. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defense . wishes to emphasize that the Singer clan is very grateful to the state of Utah. They know that were the original standoff in Marion to have occurred in a place like Houston, they would have fallen prey to ferocious swat teams endowed with mandates to kill. "Further, there is no doubt the clan is guilty of r bombing the Mormon chapel in Marion. It has assumed all responsibilities in open court. We rested our case on the bombing incident and trusted our fate to the equitability of the earlier court and jury. 'The issue before this court is whether the FBI and the state of Utah negligently contributed to the death of Officer John House or should the Singer-Swap- p clan, hereafter the clan, bear the full consequences of the death. "After bombing the chapel, the clan retreated behind the doors of its caoin. The state police and the FBI, and whatever other power (religious or technical) that could be assembled in order to force the clan to shamefully surrender were used. "The FBI and the state had the uncompromised cross-countr- - in duty to ensure that none of the absurdly large num- ber of armed personnel who camped in freezing weather at the borders of the clan's farm got injured or killed unnecessarily. That duty also implicitly included the clause not to spice the already confused state of mind of the clan for fear of irrational respons es. "Was that duty breached? The FBI and the state, acting amateurishly, resorted to electronically harass- ing the clan by using eerie sounds that must nave been inspired by Steven Spielberg's The Exorcist. They further accentuated the acoustic torture with g airplane roars. As if those modem diabolic tools were insufficient to force the clan from its retreat, light plants were hiked to the location and their laser beams were directed at every orifice in the clan's house. That last device only incited my clients to shoot at the horrifying lights. "Was it necessary for the authorities to breach their duty to not incite the clan's fanatical actions? What did the authorities expect to achieve? Should we assume that they wanted the clan to tire and surrender? Did the men in charge of the operations consult g ramia psychologist to inquire about the fications of their decisions on the clan's eight children holed in the cabin with their parents? Surely they knew children were in the home. Should they . not have consulted an expert in religious fanaticism? Not to my knowledge. Somehow, the FBI, the state and others believed the men and women in the house under siege would obediently surrender to power beams, cranked-u- p decibels of science fiction recordg airplanes. The decision makers ings and failed to realize that the clan did not have a glimmer of trust in the system. "The FBI and the state should have waited as long as necessary. They also should have used more humane forms of persuasion to negotiate an end to the stalemate. What was the urgency to capture the clan? Besides blowing up an empty chapel, clan members had not 'yet' killed anyone. They had no desire to do so. In trying to understand why that huge g dudes was at the Singers' farm, army of low-flyin- UTAH high-power- ed long-lastin- low-flyin- gun-totin- DICES, SILENT IW uu standoff? Singer-Swap-p one must understand the FBI and the state's lack of training in delicate matters. Should that deficiency be blamed because of a lack of funding? The motto in these types of situations must be to wear out all dialogues. The FBI and the state's few attempts at negotiations were belligerent acts of emotional torture, a flagrant disregard of duty and a sure conductor to irrational behaviors on the part of the tortured, mostly when they (the tortured) truly believe their cause is sacred. The state should have, at all costs, avoided its dismal and macho conduct. It was dealing with a matter of faith, religious faith, which was desperately immersed in a fanatical belief of metaphysical intervention (the clan expected John Singer to come from the dead to lead them. 'The authorities did not fully assess all their options as should be the case in good law enforcement procedures. Officer House's death is a direct causation of the authorities' fallacies. Through their dismal performance, the FBI and the state fueled the clan's conviction in its crusade and offered the sinister option of martyrdom. "When House's dog went on the attack, expectedly, the tired, emotionally drained and suspicious occupants of the sieged cabin responded by shooting at the dog. It is unfortunate that Officer House was in the line of fire. However, my clients reacted the way any reasonable person, subjected to the same severe mental torture for 13 days and nights, would have reacted. Indeed the authorities cannot be allowed to invoke the common man test to defend their sad performance. "Because the FBI and the state of Utah had a solemn duty to protect their people; because the FBI and the state of Utah through their follies, amateurism and machismo, breached that duty; and as a direct result of that breach, Officer House was fatally shot, the FBI and the state of Utah were negligent in the sad result of their policies. "Equitable jury, because of the authorities' negligent contribution, my clients should be found not guilty." Bel-AJean de Montreux, a student at the University of Utah College of La w, is an editorial columnist for the Chronicle. . - mi EH f) aturday, January 21st at 12 noon Steps of the State Capitol Since 1973 women have had access to safe and legal abortion service. Now this essential freedom is in danger. Join with others to demonstrate your support for a woman's right to make are not private decisions about reproductive health. raised now it may be too late. Together we can be heard! If-voic-es Sponsored by: Salt Lake Chapter Utah National Organization of Women Utah Chapter National Abortion Rights Action League Utah Women's Clinic American Civil Liberties Union of Utah Planned Parenthood Association of Utah BY |
