Elizabeth Smart's Dramatic Day in Court — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00we do want to turn to that dramatic day
2. 0:02in court when Elizabeth Smart took the
3. 0:04stand to testify for the first time ever
4. 0:06about how she was kidnapped at
5. 0:09knifepoint held hostage for nine months
6. 0:11and sexually abused and not even her own
7. 0:14family had heard some of the details
8. 0:16about her ordeal her father ed smart is
9. 0:19standing by to talk to us live in just a
10. 0:21moment ABC's Barbara Pinto tells us more
11. 0:24about the day of testimony Elizabeth
12. 0:27Smart was poised and calm on the stand
13. 0:29recounting nine months of horror there
14. 0:32were certainly a lot of things that I
15. 0:33have never heard before and I had
16. 0:41and no idea what she got through family
17. 0:44members cringed when she spoke of the
18. 0:46brutal sexual abuse testifying she was
19. 0:49raped three to four times a day by her
20. 0:51alleged captor Brian Mitchell a homeless
21. 0:54self-proclaimed prophet she said there
22. 0:57wasn't an actual 24-hour period that he
23. 0:59wasn't able to rape me the nightmare
24. 1:02began in 2002 Elizabeth was 14
25. 1:05Mitchell broke into the bedroom she
26. 1:06shared with her sister he came into my
27. 1:09room she said her voice breaking held a
28. 1:11knife to my throat and threatened me and
29. 1:14my family's life and said come with me
30. 1:16he marched her deep into the canyon
31. 1:18where she met his wife Wanda bar Z both
32. 1:21staged an impromptu wedding making
33. 1:23Elizabeth Mitchell's second wife the
34. 1:25abuse horrific chained between two trees
35. 1:28her legs bolted she said Mitchell used
36. 1:31alcohol and drugs to rape her and
37. 1:33threatened to kill her and her family if
38. 1:36she tried to escape anything that I
39. 1:38showed resistance or hesitation to she
40. 1:40said he would turn to me and say the
41. 1:42lord commanded you to do this you have
42. 1:44to experience the lowest form of
43. 1:45humanity to experience the highest
44. 1:47Elizabeth never came face to face with
45. 1:49her alleged abductor the shackled and
46. 1:51Shaggy defendant refused to stop singing
47. 1:54hymns so the judge sent him to a holding
48. 1:56cell to watch on videotape after this
49. 1:59difficult day in court Elizabeth will
50. 2:01move on leaving on an overseas church
51. 2:03mission trip while a judge decides
52. 2:06whether her accused captor is mentally
53. 2:08fit to stand trial for Good Morning
54. 2:10America Barbara Pinto ABC News Salt Lake
55. 2:13City and her father Edie
56. 2:16smart joining us live now from Salt Lake
57. 2:18City Utah and Edie we saw you tears in
58. 2:22your eyes
59. 2:22these were details she had not ever told
60. 2:25you you know I knew somewhat but I just
61. 2:30had no idea of the scope of what she
62. 2:33went through I just couldn't believe
63. 2:37that anyone would be such an animal and
64. 2:41I know because you told me years ago
65. 2:43that you had been advised not to press
66. 2:45her let her tell you everything in her
67. 2:47time what did she say to you afterwards
68. 2:51what did you say to each other
69. 2:53you know I just told her how proud I was
70. 2:56to sit there in that courtroom and hear
71. 2:59basically her story and the story of
72. 3:02Brian David Mitchell from the time he
73. 3:05was young to this point in time I just I
74. 3:09couldn't believe anyone could be so
75. 3:11abusive so self-absorbed and so selfish
76. 3:15as to do and to hide behind the the
77. 3:19skirt of religion that he has it's just
78. 3:22well you know seven years I know you've
79. 3:26been trying to seek justice on this case
80. 3:28but two times he has been found
81. 3:31delusional to have a delusional disorder
82. 3:33incompetent to stand trial from what you
83. 3:37heard yesterday from seeing him in court
84. 3:39are you sure that he is competent I am
85. 3:44sure I mean you think that for a year
86. 3:46and a half after he was back he was
87. 3:49considered competent and came very close
88. 3:51to doing a plea deal so what changed
89. 3:54that scenario from him being competent
90. 3:57at that time to being incompetent the
91. 4:00fact that he wouldn't help in his own
92. 4:03defense I mean to me that is absolutely
93. 4:05no excuse and and right now one of the
94. 4:09things that is really frustrating is to
95. 4:11hear that the US attorney the prosecutor
96. 4:14Brett Tolman is potentially going to be
97. 4:16pulled off the case and replaced I mean
98. 4:20it's it's at the leisure of the US
99. 4:22attorney but I would just ask and plead
100. 4:25for him after so many years in coming so
101. 4:28close that we're able to complete this
102. 4:31and that he not be pulled off this case
103. 4:35I think it sounds a lot of people that
104. 4:37Elizabeth apparently wanted to face him
105. 4:39in that courtroom she wanted to look at
106. 4:42his face as she told this story she did
107. 4:45she wanted to actually see him muzzled
108. 4:48there and have to face her and know that
109. 4:53you know this is what you are and this
110. 4:55is what you did and you know get out of
111. 4:58here thinking that you're going to
112. 5:00manipulate the system which he has done
113. 5:02for six years to think that you are
114. 5:04going to can
115. 5:05this charade even the defense attorney
116. 5:09said how courageous she was is this it
117. 5:13will this let her move to a new chapter
118. 5:16now in her life you know this is just
119. 5:20the competency hearing so no we don't
120. 5:23know for sure what's going to happen but
121. 5:26we this the first time that Elizabeth
122. 5:29has come forward and I I was incredibly
123. 5:32proud of her yesterday to see her sit
124. 5:34there and be able to tell you know the
125. 5:37horror of what she went through and be
126. 5:40able to you know share with the judge
127. 5:43what kind of a person he was in in the
128. 5:46manner that she did it was just you know
129. 5:49I just want to thank everyone out there
130. 5:51for their prayers and their support and
131. 5:54is she all right are their nightmares is
132. 5:58there anything you worry about still no
133. 6:00you know yesterday we left and we went
134. 6:03up to our cabin that's why I looked away
135. 6:05I do
136. 6:05I just came straight down from there she
137. 6:09I have no idea but she has been
138. 6:12completely amazing to me and you know
139. 6:16life is moving forward and she is you
140. 6:19know truly not going to allow him to
141. 6:22affect her life well I know she said
142. 6:26that she was able to do it because she
143. 6:28said I don't want anyone else to get
144. 6:30hurt and we thank you so much for
145. 6:33joining us this morning and as even the
146. 6:35defense attorney said what a courageous
147. 6:37act by Elizabeth Smart thank you well
148. 6:39could I could I just say one last thing
149. 6:41and that is that you know when you look
150. 6:44at what these children potentially are
151. 6:46exposed to we have to do something as a
152. 6:49country to change that and I would
153. 6:51highly recommend people to go to the rad
154. 6:54kids.org site and see about helping to
155. 6:58teach your children and help them
156. 7:01understand that nobody has the right to
157. 7:03do these kinds of things to them and
158. 7:06that you know they can tell because a
159. 7:09lot of kids don't know and feel that
160. 7:12they can tell other people and this is
161. 7:14something that absolutely has got to
162. 7:16change
163. 7:17so that no one else gets hurt as she
164. 7:20said absolutely
165. 7:22Thanks something thank you