Investigator jailed after refusing to testify in death penalty case for religious reasons

Greta Lindecrantz is a Mennonite — a Protestant sect that strongly opposes capital punishment

Death penalty opponents in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

An investigator in a Colorado death penalty case has been jailed after refusing to testify for religious reasons.

Greta Lindecrantz, a Mennonite who opposes capital punishment, was jailed after she refused to answer questions about her work on the defence team of Robert Ray, one of three men on Colorado’s death row, claiming that helping their effort to execute a defendant would violate her religious beliefs.

Ray’s defence team is challenging his death sentence partly by arguing that he did not have an effective legal team, which led prosecutors to subpoena Lindecrantz to testify to back up their case that he did have good representation.

They previously questioned Ray’s original lawyers as part of the appeal proceedings.

But her lawyer, Mari Newman, argued Lindecrantz ”cannot be a cog in the machinery of death” and urged prosecutors to access her case files instead of forcing her to testify.

The lawyer said Lindecrantz would testify if not for the possibility that her testimony could be used to put Ray to death. She said Lindecrantz compared her predicament to being asked to shoot a gun at Ray, not knowing if it was loaded.

Judge Michelle Amico ruled Lindecrantz had to testify because her effectiveness in Ray’s defence was questioned and there was no substitute for her testimony.

Lindecrantz refused to answer questions again in court on Tuesday and was returned to jail. She has been ordered to return to court Wednesday, her attorney Mari Newman said.

“Instead of looking at all of the options, the court has chosen the most punitive action to try to break her will,” Ms Newman said, noting that Lindecrantz could have been allowed to remain free while she works on an appeal of the contempt order.

Vikki Migoya, a spokeswoman for District Attorney George Brauchler, said the office would not comment on Lindecrantz because it usually does not talk outside court about proceedings, especially when many of the filings have been sealed.

Additional reporting by AP