The woman who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart and stood by as her husband repeatedly raped the then-teen 16 years ago was sprung from prison Wednesday.
Wanda Barzee was freed from Utah State Prison just after 8 a.m., the Utah Department of Corrections said,
Barzee, 72, walked free after spending 15 years behind bars because Utah authorities miscalculated her sentence.
She wasn’t spotted by a throng of reporters stationed outside the prison.
As one of the conditions of her release, Barzee will be under federal supervision, including mental health treatment, for five years. She also has to register as a sex offender and is ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with Smart,
Smart, now 30 and a married mother, blasted the move as “incomprehensible,” saying she believes Barzee is still a danger to society.
She also ripped her captor’s court-ordered apology as half-hearted in an interview that aired Wednesday on “CBS This Morning.”
“It was just a very brief, ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done, the end’ kind of thing,” Smart said. “I don’t think you can just kidnap a 14-year-old girl and, you know, not only sit by her while she’s being raped, but encourage the rapist to continue. … Then just at the end of it say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and really mean it.”
Following Barzee’s release, Smart, now a child abuse advocate, thanked her supporters, calling the past few weeks a “rollercoaster of emotion.”
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their kind words, support, and concern. It has meant so much to me,”
“May we all remain vigilant in watching over our families, friends, and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage. I truly believe life is meant to be happy and beautiful, and no matter what happens that will remain my goal for me and for my family.”
Barzee was convicted on state and federal charges after she and her husband, Brian David Mitchell, were arrested for snatching Smart from her home at knifepoint in Salt Lake City in 2002.
In 2010, she was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison — and was released from a Texas lockup in 2016 to begin serving a one- to 15-year state sentence for a separate attempted abduction of Smart’s cousin.
In June, her attorney, Scott Williams, asked for her release, arguing that the time she spent in federal prison should count toward her state sentence.
A parole board denied the request, setting her release date as January 2024 — but reversed its decision last week.
“The Board of Pardons and Parole had previously operated under the understanding, that the six years Ms. Barzee spent in federal prison did not count toward her state sentence. However, a recent legal review of the state sentence, statutes, and case law has made clear that the federal time does count toward her state sentence,” the board said in a statement. “The Board of Pardons and Parole does not have legal authority to hold Ms. Barzee beyond September 19, 2018.”
Williams said Barzee has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses but isn’t dangerous.
Mitchell is serving a life sentence without parole.