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Despite his convictions last week in federal court for kidnapping and sexually assaulting Elizabeth Smart, Brian David Mitchell "seems exactly the same," according to a jail visitor.
"He knows he was found guilty ... but he doesn't believe he is guilty of anything, he doesn't feel he did anything wrong," Mitchell's former stepdaughter, Rebecca Woodridge, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday. "He says he was acting on behalf of the Lord. And I think he truly believes that."
A U.S. District Court jury on Dec. 10 rejected the defense's assertion that Mitchell, 57, was insane when he abducted Smart from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002, and raped the then 14-year-old girl — who was taken as a plural wife — almost daily until she was rescued nine months later.
But Woodridge feels Mitchell is mentally ill and is one of the few people who attended Mitchell's 21-day trial as a show of support for the defendant. She says she is the only person, except for defense attorneys, who visits Mitchell at the jail.
"He smiles and says hi and asks how everything is," she said. "But he still looks sick, health-wise."
Her commitment is surprising given that she claims Mitchell sexually assaulted her from age 7 until she was 11 years old — abuse that coincided with Mitchell's marriage to Woodridge's mother, Debbie Mitchell.
"I'm not 100 percent sure why I do it," Woodridge says of her dedication to the man who molested her.
"My forgiveness for him is a huge part," she said. "The other part is he doesn't have anybody. If I can be the one person he has, I can give him that."
She added that as part of her healing process, she plans one day to confront Mitchell with what he did to her. "I'm waiting for the right time," she said.
Mitchell is locked down 23 hours a day, and spends most of his time reading books he checks out from the jail's in-house branch of the Salt Lake County Library.
Unified Police Lt. Michael DeNiro said Mitchell has been moved to several areas in the jail, depending on whether he is having a medical or mental heath issue.
At the present time, DeNiro said, Mitchell is on a "mixed medical and mental health unit," where he can be closely supervised.
DeNiro said he could not comment on Mitchell's medical issues. But Woodridge said Mitchell is on the medical unit because of recurring seizures, which she said began in January.
Mitchell brought his trial to a halt for a day when he suffered an apparent seizure in the courtroom the morning of Nov. 20, just prior to the jury being brought in and seated.
Woodridge says he routinely refuses medical treatment. But Mitchell has given jailers no other problems.
"He hasn't given us any problems," DeNiro said. "He is polite and answers to his name — his real name."
DeNiro was referring to Mitchell's use of a number of aliases, including Immanuel David Isaiah, a name he used in connection with penning a book in which he claims to be a prophet of God who was selected to restore polygamy to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mitchell is expected to remain at the jail until he is sentenced May 25 by Judge Dale Kimball. The judge could send him to a federal prison for up to life.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Smart — who testified for three days during the trial and then watched the rest of the trial with her parents — has returned to France to complete her LDS Church mission. Her obligations to the church will be completed in time for her to speak at Mitchell's sentencing hearing.