A video entitled Banking on Heaven illustrates the plight of the children in polygamist sects such as Colorado City.

http://gosw.about.com/od/southwesthistory/a/polygamy.htm

A bill before the Legislature would allow the state to begin reforming a society that steals public money and abuses underage girls
Commentary
By John Dougherty
Published on April 07, 2005
The Arizona Legislature has the rare opportunity this session to strike a powerful blow to the heart of the fundamentalist Mormon polygamist cult that has dominated life in the isolated communities north of the Grand Canyon for more than 70 years.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-04-07/news/derail-polygamy-s-money-train/

When the elders of YFZ Ranch in Texas tried to quash a 16-year-old bride’s rebellion, they warned that the outside world would force her to have sex with “lots of men.” Apparently equally important, she would have to cut her hair and wear makeup.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/verena-von-pfetten/the-lowdown-on-fundamenta_b_96786.html

… Such sinners, according to FLDS doctrine, are supposed to willingly submit to blood-atonement carried out by their “priestly head” — their father, husband or brother. “They slit your throat from ear-to-ear and disembowel you,” Mackert said, “and that’s the only way you’re redeemed.”

http://www.thenewstribune.com/updates/story/635081.html

The Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, of Utah is so busy working with polygamist groups, he apparently does not have time to read the law books, or perhaps he just does not care about the rule of law. He, especially, cannot ignore the anti-polygamy laws, because it is a condition for Utah’s statehood in plain language in Utah’s constitution.

http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2008/05/the-story-behind-the-story-of-polygamy-in-the-west/

The police force in Polygamyland helps fugitive Prophet Warren Jeffs and his cult break the law
By John Dougherty
Published on February 23, 2006

The Colorado City Marshal’s Office is in a state of insurrection. Mark Poutenis
 Utah AG Mark Shurtleff (left) and Arizona AG Terry Goddard have become Prophet Warren Jeffs’ puppets.

And nobody in authority — from Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano on down — seems to give a damn.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-02-23/news/rogue-cops/

Polygamy is illegal in Utah and forbidden by the Arizona constitution. However, law enforcement agencies in both states have decided to focus on crimes within polygamous communities that involve child abuse, domestic violence and fraud.

http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy.html

Shouldn’t criminal laws be reserved for conduct that creates serious harm to individuals or society? Does polygamy fit within that framework?

http://religiouschildabuse.blogspot.com/2009/02/polygamy-debate-should-be-in-parliament.html

Inbreeding among polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border is producing a caste of severely retarded and deformed children
By John Dougherty
Published on December 29, 2005

Fifteen years ago, a strange-looking child suffering from severe physical maladies and acute retardation was brought into the office of Dr. Theodore Tarby.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/

Polygamy is a risk factor for incest. This case report of incest and polygamy portrays the dynamics that dominated this family’s identity. The father indoctrinated and groomed his biological daughter and stepdaughter for sexual gratification in a cult-like atmosphere, and secretly married both of them. He justified his acts to the family members under the guise of religion, but he later denied allegations of polygamy and sexual contact with his daughters when confronted by the authorities. Ultimately, his parental rights were terminated in family court. The authors interviewed the primary victim and reviewed extensive evidence, including videotapes of the victims talking with detectives and also privately amongst each other. Videotape dialogue excerpts capture how these young girls individually coped with the sexual abuse and responded to becoming child wives in a polygamous family. Criminal charges ultimately were not pursued because the key witness refused to testify against her biological father.

http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/FORENSIC/PAGES/JFS2002044_475.htm