LET LOOSE

Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapper Set for Release From Prison Today

Smart is strongly opposing her captor’s release.

Wanda Barzee—one of the two people convicted of kidnapping 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in 2002—will be released from prison Wednesday, despite Smart urging officials to reconsider. Barzee, 72, was serving a 15-year sentence with a release date set for 2024 when the Utah officials credited her with 2,436 days for time served. Barzee’s lawyer said: “I do not believe there is any evidence that Ms. Barzee is a risk to the community, and I think it is unfair and counterproductive to make such assertions.” Smart said Tuesday that she believes her captor is still a danger. “I am very concerned—for the community, for the public, as much as I am for myself,” she said. “[Barzee] would encourage [second captor Brian Mitchell] to rape me. She would sit right next to me. Like, the side of her body would be touching me,” Smart said. “While he was raping me.”