From Deseret News archives:
Swapp apologizes, asks for forgiveness
The Summit County polygamist, convicted for his role in the 1988 bombing of an LDS stake center in Kamas and a 13-day standoff at his family's ranch in Marion, has penned a pair of letters offering "a sincere apology."
In a letter recently published in the Park Record newspaper in Park City, Swapp made an open apology to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members of the Kamas stake center, his neighbors and law enforcement.
"I come before you all through this letter in humility and contrition, and declare unto you that I was wrong in bombing the Kamas church building in January of 1988," Swapp wrote.
In the letter, Swapp said a recent sale of the property belonging to John Singer has made him reflect on the events that put him in prison.
"What I saw of myself, I didn't like," Swapp wrote.
He went on to say that the bombing was contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and he did not want to be counted among the terrorists across the globe.
"I am truly sorry for bombing your church; I am sorry for resisting arrest for 13 days, and I am so very sorry for the death of Officer Fred House," Swapp wrote. "I am also sorry for the fear that I engendered in the people of the Kamas Valley during that time. I am truly sorry for what I did, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness."
Swapp wrote a second letter to Utah Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford.
Ford declined to reveal the contents of his letter, calling it "private correspondence."
Swapp is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Arizona for the bombing and the siege at the Singer-Swapp ranch in Marion, which ended in the death of Utah Department of Corrections Lt. Fred House.
John Timothy Singer, convicted of firing the fatal shot, is due to be released from prison in a couple of weeks. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole said Monday that Swapp likely would have a parole hearing next year. Swapp's family has asked that he be transferred to Utah to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Ford said that Swapp will not be transferred.
"We think it has the appearance of impropriety since one of our officers was killed and two others were wounded," he said Monday. "We think it's better if we keep him in another state."
Contributing: KSL-TV
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
