Western Montana’s Lake County is the only Indian reservation county in the state where local law enforcement handles felony cases against Native Americans – and says it’s costing the county about $4 million a year.
Western Montana’s Lake County is the only Indian reservation county in the state where local law enforcement handles felony cases against Native Americans – and says it’s costing the county about $4 million a year.
Rachel Bellesen shot her ex-partner after he attacked her. Her trial tested the lengths necessary to prove self-defense, even after a lifetime of domestic abuse
THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. (AP) â For a moment, the entire courtroom froze.
Judge Amy Eddy had spent the last several minutes winding her way through a painstakingly detailed explanation of her impending decision, touching on each argument she had been presented with while alternately glancing at prosecutors, defense attorneys and Rachel Ann Bellesen, the 37-year-old mother of four sitting stoically with the weight of the last seven months dangling over her head.
Then two heavy words knifed through the tension in the crowded room: âwith prejudice.â
When the power of those words eventually sunk in, Bellesen leaned back in her chair, opened her mouth wide and let out a long-stifled sigh, expelling much of the fear, anger and horror sheâd been carrying for the 229 days since she said she killed her ex-husband in self-defense.