David Brian Mitchell, the man who kidnapped and held Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months in 2002, received two life sentences for the crime. While captive, Smart was forced to live in a pseudo-polygamous marriage with Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee, and was repeatedly raped by Mitchell. During the hearing, Smart spoke directly to her former captor. “I don’t have very much to say to you. I know exactly what you did,” she said. “I know that you know that what you did was wrong. You did it with full knowledge … but I have a wonderful life now and no matter what you do, you will never affect me again.” Outside the courtroom, after the sentence was handed down, Smart said the day was “the ending of a very long chapter and the beginning of a very beautiful chapter for me.”
