Judge Denies Elizabeth Smart Testimony In O.C. Kidnapping Case
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Onetime kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart went to the Fullerton Courthouse Thursday in support of an alleged kidnapping victim.
When addressed about the victim, Smart commented: "I think that she's a hero." She also told the court that there are good reasons for why captives don't run away.
After Smart gave her testimony to the court, the judge decided that the jury in the case against Isidro Medrano Garcia will not get to hear what she has to say on the matter.
"I can only respect his wishes and agree to disagree," Smart said in reaction to the judges decision.
Smart was 14 in 2002 when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City. She was located and rescue nine months later.
The prosecutor didn't want to go on camera but hoped Smart would provide insight on why the victim made the decisions she did, and why she said Smart would have been compensated for her time, but the judge ruled the cases were too different and Smart did not qualify as an expert
Smart was not pleased with this, as she stated that even though a psychologist would not have been able to be there, she would have brought something to the table.
Like Smart, Garcia's alleged victim was a teen when she was allegedly abducted. The then 15-year old says she was raped and threatened with deportation, forced to marry, and even had a child with the man she says held her captive for 10 years. The defense argues she was a consenting partner, and the couple, according to neighbors, appeared to be happily married.
When Smart was asked to compare her situation to Garcia's alleged victim, she said: "That could have been me, that could have been my story when I was taken. I made the decision to do whatever it took to survive. Every decision made after was based on whether or not I would survive."
And although the judge ruled otherwise, Smart believes she knows why it took a decade for the victim to break free. They experienced different backgrounds and different threats, but she knows psychological chains can be hardest to break.
