CLEVELAND — Defendants convicted in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish lost a bid Wednesday to leave jail to attend a family wedding after prosecutors argued they might flee or commit similar attacks while on furlough.
U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster, who presided at the trial of 16 Amish members convicted in the attacks, ruled against requests by five of the nine locked-up Amish, who are awaiting sentencing Feb. 8. Seven other defendants remain free pending sentencing.
The judge agreed that anyone released from jail might become a fugitive or pose a danger to others.
Those asking to attend the Thanksgiving Day wedding in Bergholz in eastern Ohio included two brothers and an uncle of the bride. Prosecutors contend the bride and groom, Lizzie Mullet and Ferdinand Miller, are “unindicted co-conspirators” in the case.
In September, a jury convicted the 16 of hate crimes in last year’s attacks, which prosecutors say stemmed from religious disputes among the Amish. The convictions are being appealed.
The defendants seeking jail furloughs “participated in late-night violent assaults on unsuspecting victims, some of whom were family members,” the government said in opposing furloughs.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 11/22/2012