Pam Newburn (20:01)

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Ashley Flowers (21:08)

When Brent's team members found him, he was lying face up in the snow, dead. His 223 Ruger rifle was sitting across the left side of his body and holstered to his side was a Smith and Wesson revolver. He was still donning his camouflage snowsuit and bulletproof vest. He'd been shot in his thigh and back by a 12 gauge shotgun. A round had entered just beneath his bulletproof vest. Based on the severity of his injuries, it was assumed that he'd bled out within minutes of being shot. It wasn't immediately clear if he'd gotten the chance to fire his weapon at the suspects before he was gunned down, though some source material later reported that he had actually been able to discharge at least two rounds before falling to the ground. Those shots, though, were not believed to have struck anyone. His team members then removed his body from the woods and transported him to a forensic pathologist in Spokane, Washington for a formal autopsy, which was scheduled for the following day. Later that evening, investigators visited his wife Barbara, 17 year old stepson Joseph, and 13 year old stepdaughter Angela at the family's home in Sagle. They had to deliver the tragic news. Angela told producers for Oxygen that when her mother found out what happened, she literally crumbled to the floor with grief. Angela said that even though Brent, who she referred to by the nickname Jake, wasn't her biological father, she'd grown up with him most of her life and in so many ways, he was a dad to her. She explained that losing him devastated everyone in her family at the time of the crime. Barbara, who'd been married to Brent for nearly a decade, told the Times News that her husband genuinely loved being outside. And he'd always told her that if he were to die, he wanted it to happen in the woods. Additional news coverage states that Brent was the first U.S. forest Service employee to be killed in the line of duty up until that point. So it was a really big deal. His manager and other co workers with the Forest Service told the Times News and Shoshone News Press that Brent was liked and respected by all of his colleagues. He was also a dedicated family man who often spoke about his wife and stepchildren, even in settings that were, for lack of better phrasing, mostly brofests. His brother in law told reporters that the whole reason Brent became a Forest Service officer was because he loved the outdoors so much and was dedicated to protecting it. In the shootout, James Pratt had been shot too, in his left leg. So immediately following his capture, he was taken to Bonner General Hospital to undergo surgery and was expected to make a full recovery. Because Brent had died as a result of the brothers actions, both of them were charged with individual counts of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, second degree kidnapping, first degree burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a police officer, and robbery. After their arraignments, they were held without bail. Neither man agreed to speak with law enforcement after the incident, which was unfortunate because what everyone wanted to know was why? Why had they done this? Turns out the answer was fairly straightforward, but also kind of a wild tale. According to the available source material, the Pratt brothers were originally from Michigan and had experienced poverty. Their father and mother divorced when they were kids and after that the brothers moved frequently with their dad of the two of them, James was reportedly the more confident brother, who was physically taller and, I think, just viewed as the leader of the pair. More than a decade before this crime, their dad had moved them to Idaho to mine gold and silver with the goal of getting rich. But that endeavor fizzled out with poor results after about five years. And when the brothers were in their late teens and early twenties, their father decided to leave Idaho entirely. But James and Joseph continued living there. They found work at a cedar mill, and Joseph even ended up getting married and starting a family of his own. By the time the year 1980 rolled around, though, both men had fallen on hard times financially. During that time, they struck up a friendship with a woman named Gloria White, who owned a large cabin in the Katka Mountain area of Idaho, which is about an hour and a half northeast of Sandpoint. Gloria had a tendency to befriend and shelter folks who had criminal pasts or who needed to catch a break in life. The Pratt brothers fit the latter description. So at one point, they'd ask Gloria for a loan. But instead of providing them with cash, she introduced them to another guy who was staying at her house named Jim. Jim, as it turns out, though, was not that guy's real name. His true identity was Christopher Boyce, who was, wait for it, the son of an FBI agent who was a convicted spy on the run from federal authorities. I know this part of the story is wild. Like I said, In 1977, Christopher was convicted of espionage for selling satellite technology secrets from the CIA to the Soviet Union. For that crime, he was sentenced to 40 years in a California federal prison, but escaped about three years later in 1980. During his short time behind bars, though, Christopher had picked up a few tips from other inmates on how to successfully rob banks. So when he escaped, he went straight to committing that kind of crime. Along the way, he met and enlisted James and Joseph and one of their other brothers named Kendall Pratt to help him rob about six banks in Idaho, Washington, and Montana. According to news coverage and court documents, the Pratts usually acted as Christopher's getaway driver. By 1981, though, the men's arrangement had soured because James had started to suspect that Christopher wasn't giving him and his brothers their fair share of the spoils from the bank robbery jobs. So infighting within the group resulted in a fallout between the Pratts and Christopher, one that would eventually come back to bite Christopher big time. In the summer of 1981, fresh off the brothers split with Christopher. James was reading some newspaper articles and learned that the U.S. marshals were offering a $15,000 reward for Christopher's capture. James and Joseph used that information to their advantage and became paid government informants, eventually leading investigators to Christopher. On August 21, 1981, he was apprehended in Washington State, and in exchange for their cooperation, the Pratts were given immunity from prosecution for the bank robberies, and at least one of them pocketed the reward money for helping the US Marshals catch Christopher. An article by Dan Drury for the Bonner County Daily Bee also reported that in addition to raking in the reward money, the U.S. marshals also gave the Pratts other payments or subsidies that equated to about $10,000, which would have been more like $25,000 back in the early 1980s when you consider inflation. And if all of this is starting to sound like the plot of a Hollywood movie, that's because it is. According to Dan Drury's reporting for the Bonner County Daily Bee, there was a feature film about Christopher Boyce's life and eventual capture that was released in 1985 called the Falcon and the Snowman. It starred Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, and Pat Hingle. An author named Robert Lindsay also wrote two books about the story titled the Falcon and the Snowman and the Flight of the Falcon, which were released in the late 70s and early 80s. In those novels, it's clarified that in addition to Christopher being held responsible for his crimes, Gloria White, the woman who'd housed him in the Pratts, was also eventually prosecuted and sentenced to five years in prison. An article I found by the Associated Press explained that Christopher Boyce was released from prison early in March 2003. But back to the Pratts for a little bit. It's unclear from the source material what the brothers did with the reward money they received from ratting on Christopher or how long those funds lasted them. There's just not enough coverage out there about what they were up to between 1982 and 1989. But what I can tell you is that Tammy Palahniuk told producers for Oxygen's Killer Siblings episode that at some point Joseph had worked for her mother, Lee. He wasn't exactly a full time employee or anything more like a handyman, but apparently during his time on Lee's property, he'd come to suspect that she kept money in a safe at her house. In fact, Joseph later told reporter Kelly McBride that he suspected Lee kept money from her restaurant and nightclub businesses at her house, and he actually believes she still owed him like $500 or something. In back wages. So that's why when he and James came back to Sandpoint on January 11, 1989, after visiting with one of their brothers in Montana, he'd gotten the impulsive idea to rob Lee's house. So in hindsight, it made total sense why the brothers had been so insistent during the home invasion that there was a safe in the house. However, like I mentioned earlier, they didn't know what Tammy knew, which was that her mom no longer kept one in the home. So I think that indicates there had to have been at least a few months or possibly years between when Joseph had last been on Lee's property and when he and James committed the home invasion. Anyway, after the brothers initial appearances in court, the Bonner county prosecutor announced that he intended to seek the death penalty against them for Brent's murder. It was also at this point in the investigation that the FBI and U.S. marshals were contacted about the case since Brent was technically a federal employee. Though the source material doesn't explicitly state this, I also think another reason why these bigger agencies were requested to be involved was to help the Bonner County Sheriff's Department review their agency's actions and everything that had transpired during the manhunt you see in the aftermath of the chase, Brent's death, and the Pratt brothers eventual arrests. Bonner County Sheriff admitted that the situation could have been handled better in terms of planning and execution. The Associated Press reported that the sheriff said the incident was all around a very difficult response to coordinate because of the terrain it took place in, but he agreed law enforcement's actions and tactics should be critiqued, at least as a learning moment. For example, the agency wanted to examine every aspect of Deputy Steve Barbieri's response, since he was the only other law enforcement officer who'd physically been with Brent when the shootout happened. Through a series of experiments, the sheriff's office tried to figure out why Steve's handgun had allegedly jammed when he said he'd tried to fire it at the Pratts. Did the cold weather have something to do with it? Was it Steve panicking? Was the firearm just defective? The best conclusion the department could come to was that the gun had not malfunctioned due to the cold, but rather Steve, who was wearing very thick gloves during the shootout, had accidentally gripped the trigger guard of the handgun instead of actually pulling the trigger. There was also a question of how many shots had been fired between the Pratts and law enforcement. Some personnel who were stationed near the crime scene and were assisting Steve and Brett said they heard what they described as A volley of gunshots exchanged in the woods. Upwards of 20 rounds, actually. Now, that was an interesting detail because it indicated that the shootout had spanned for perhaps longer than initially estimated, or at least involved a lot more firepower than what struck Brend. One of Bonner County's sheriff's deputies later stated in court that it almost sounded like the first couple shots were slower than the latter ones. However, towards the end, the blast got so fast, he didn't think whoever was firing was a member of law enforcement because it just didn't seem like the kind of firing cadence an officer or deputy would do. Reading between the lines, I think maybe firing in such quick succession like that could be considered or perceived as careless, which typically trained law enforcement officers try not to do in situations like this anyway. On January 17, while the shootout was still in the beginning stage of being reviewed, Brent's friends and family, along with some 750 to 800 law enforcement officers, held a funeral and burial service for him in Sandpoint. They remembered him as a hero, a father, a hunter, a firefighter, a gardener, a baker, a dog lover, and a friend. The pastor who conducted the service read a statement about Brent that his co workers drafted, which said, quote, brent was a man who was so full of life that he seemed to be nearly bursting at the seams with it. You worked harder around him because you were dragged along in his wake and did not want to be left behind, end quote. Brent's mother also read a eulogy that explained how much he loved the outdoors, even as a child. She said that his whole life he'd had this unbreakable bond with Mother Nature and always reveled in the freedom of being outside amongst the trees, animals, and mountains. Brent's dad had this amazing summary of his late son when he described Brent as a beautiful flower. Flowers bloom, then they wilt, and then they die. We only have them for a short period of time, but at least we had a flower. End quote. The day after the funeral, Sandpoint City Council members passed a resolution to formally memorialize Brent's sacrifice as a law enforcement officer and commend city police officers for their actions during the events that led up to his death. Around this time, though, some rumors began to surface that suggested perhaps Brent's death wasn't actually the direct result of Joseph and James actions. Now, I know that may feel like kind of a whiplash moment for some of you, but it's a super interesting detail that I think is worth taking a closer look at.

Pam Newburn (35:13)

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Ashley Flowers (36:19)

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Pam Newburn (36:21)

Love by Mara Brock Akil, the iconic creator of Girlfriends.

Ashley Flowers (36:25)

The epic love story follows two black teens, Keisha and Justin, as they explore.

Pam Newburn (36:30)

Romance and their identities through the awkward.

Ashley Flowers (36:32)

Journey of being each other's firsts.

Pam Newburn (36:34)

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Ashley Flowers (36:46)

According to reporting by Pam Newburn, there had been some speculation following Brent's death that it might have been a member of law enforcement, possibly Steve Barbieri, who shot him. The sheriff of Bonner county at the time quickly tried to dispel those rumors, though, by telling reporters that such a scenario was impossible. According to the sheriff's comments on the matter, he said that the ammunition that was retrieved from Brent's body came from a double aught buckshot round for a shotgun. But the ammo that law enforcement was using, specifically Steve Barbieri, was triple aught buckshot, so a totally different diameter round. Now, Steve had also fired a 9 millimeter handgun during the shootout, but that gun was not determined to have been what killed Brent. So all good there. The coroner of Bonner county confirmed the same thing. He said that there was no way Steve or any of the other first responders on scene were responsible for Brent's death. In fact, a Remington 12 gauge shotgun that authorities had seized from the Pratt brothers was the only firearm in the mix that was reportedly loaded with double aught buckshot. Also, around this same time, the Pratt brothers old friend turned enemy Christopher Boyce was spoke to the press from prison via his lawyer and said that he was convinced Brent Jacobson would have lived if his former accomplices had not been given immunity for their testimony against him. Which, like he's not wrong. It is a fact that if James and Joseph had been put in prison for their roles in the bank robberies that involved Christopher, they likely would have never crossed paths with Brent. Christopher issued this response about the situation via his lawyer. If the charges are true, it is quite unfortunate. The immunity given the Pratt brothers in exchange for exaggerated and unreliable testimony against me now appears to have facilitated the unnecessary death of a law enforcement officer, end quote. Another defense lawyer who'd represented Gloria White, that woman who was convicted for aiding Christopher, told the Spokesman Review that during her trial he tried to convince jurors that the Pratts couldn't be trusted and were what the lawyer described as vicious people who should have never been given immunity from prosecution back in the early 1980s. But we know that federal authorities didn't really take that sentiment to heart back in the day, which is why the Pratts were roaming free when they carried out their crime spree in 1989. Kelly McBride reported for the Spokesman Review that James and Joseph claim that law enforcement officers who chased them after the home invasion in Sagle were well aware of their former association with Christopher Boyce. The duo claim that police and the sheriff's deputies in the home invasion incident were motivated to catch them dead or alive simply because some members of Idaho law enforcement had held a grudge that both of them skirted punishment for their roles in the bank robbery cases. Joseph told McBride, quote, Once they figured out who we were, with our connections with the boy steal and all, they weren't going to bring us back alive. I think that because we've gotten away with everything we've ever done, the boys thing and all, they wanted to really burn us our past. They don't like that at all. This is a mess. It's just a mess. It just got out of control. No one was supposed to be hurt, end quote. In that same jailhouse interview, James told the newspaper that neither he nor his brother expected a bunch of people to be at Lee Turner's house on January 12, 1989, especially kids. He claimed that the moment they realized children were inside, they considered bailing on the robbery because they didn't want it to turn into a hostage situation. But one thing led to another and things just escalated from there. James also explained that it was never his or his brother's intention to injure or kill the first deputy who'd pursued them at the start of the car chase. He said he'd tried to aim for the radiator of that deputy's car just to disable the vehicle so he'd stop pursuing them. But instead he'd shot higher than he intended to and the blast pierced through the deputy's windshield. He claimed that the entire time he and Joseph were on the run, they genuinely were afraid that if they stopped fleeing, members of law enforcement would kill them. Eventually, after nearly a day of being pursued, they got so tired they had to stop to sleep. James said that's when Brent Jacobson and Steve Barbieri found them. James claimed it was one of the lawmen who'd shot fire first, not him or his brother. And it was a bullet from that first volley that had wounded him in the leg. As a reaction to that shot, he'd fired back. But he said he had no idea he'd actually fatally wounded Brent. James admitted that he'd been armed with the caliber shotgun that killed Brent, but it was never his intention to do so. Regarding the pair's time on the run in the unforgiving woods, James told the newspaper that the longer the manhunt dragged on the the more he thought about dying. In late January 1989, just a few weeks after the crime, a four day preliminary hearing was held in Bonner County. And the case took an interesting turn when James, court appointed public defender, informed the presiding judge that he could no longer represent his client because James refused to let him be his lawyer. This situation didn't make the judge happy and she actually ended up tossing the attorney in jail for contempt of court and and ordering him to pay a $100 fine. Joseph also wasn't a big fan of his court appointed attorney, Bruce Green, because apparently both of the Pratts wanted to wait until their family members in Colorado could arrange for them to hire private attorneys. So they'd asked the judge to postpone the preliminary hearing until that happened. But the judge was like no way and refused to grant that request. So the end result of the antics at the preliminary hearing was that James defense attorney spent a little bit of time in jail and the hearing still happened. Some of the first witnesses to take the stand were the victims who'd survived the home invasion robbery. Some of their testimony was circumstantial though, because apparently none of them, other than maybe that 19 year old who the Pratts had taken as a hostage, actually got a good look at their faces because they'd been dressed in all black and wore face masks. Mark Polahniuk testified though, that he sort of ruffled one of the brothers Face coverings during the scuffle which resulted in him getting shot. And he swore that the guy who he tussled with was Joseph Pratt. But even as confident as Mark was about that detail, it still wasn't a 100% positive ID also, during the preliminary hearing, Steve Barbieri, Brent's companion in the woods during the shootout, testified that right before Brent was killed, he'd been walking in the snow about 3 to 5ft behind the forest service officer. When they emerged into a clearing. Steve said that out of the corner of his eye, he thought he noticed a person's silhouette about 10 to 15ft away from him and Bre. And in that moment, Steve yelled for whoever it was to hold it right there with Brent, then issuing his own warning. Sheriff's office, don't move. However, Steve claimed that as soon as they spoke, a muzzle flash burst in their direction. And that's seemingly when all hell broke loose. Steve testified that he'd unloaded all seven rounds that were in his shotgun, then ran about 60 yards away from the suspects to take cover before arming himself with his pistol and trying to return more fire, which he was unsuccessful in doing. When the defense cross examined Steve, the young deputy denied that he or Brent had shot their weapons first. In general, Steve described what happened as basically getting surprised by the defendants. In fact, at one point, while he'd been retreating, he'd found a place to lay down and forced himself to stay very still because he didn't want the suspects to get a second chance at getting the jump on him. He testified that he genuinely believed Brent was going to be all right and make it out of the situation. He didn't realize until a while after he'd retreated that the 41 year old had been fatally injured. Evidence the prosecution presented to the court included a videotape of the crime scene and Brent's body, as well as nearly 150 items of other evidence collected in the case. By the end of the preliminary hearing, the judge ordered that each of the Pratts would stand trial for their alleged crimes, and she even heaped on some additional charges. According to an article in the Coeur d' Alene Press, the brothers now faced first degree burglary, 10 counts of aggravated assault, robbery, second degree kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of attempted first degree murder and first degree murder, bringing their charges to a grand total of 18 felonies each. So, yeah, a lot. A lot. At their arraignment on February 7, 1989, James and Joseph both entered not guilty pleas, and their trial was scheduled for early May 1989. It was expected to last four weeks and cost Bonner county close to $250,000. A few weeks into things though, the men's cases were severed with James trial scheduled for May and Joseph's pushed to June. Something else interesting was that James court appointed attorney, the same one who'd been jailed previously for contempt, got into another spat of sorts with the court when he filed a motion to have a new judge who'd been appointed to the case disqualified from overseeing the trial. One judge prior to that judge had already been disqualified per request from Joseph's attorney, Bruce Green. So to say, things between the defense, the prosecution and the court itself itself were growing tense is a bit of an understatement. But the defense's whole strategy in doing this was to keep the brothers trials separate. The state wanted the cases consolidated, but the defendants didn't. The defense attorneys wanted James and Joseph to each have their own day in court with their own judge and jury, and that's exactly what ended up being granted for the time being.

Pam Newburn (46:46)

What makes a leader? It's a tough question, but this we know for sure. True leaders lead by example. They take risks and plunge into life with determination. And for real leaders, there's a symbol of high adrenaline and high achievement. The Range Rover Sport. The Range Rover Sport redefines sporting luxury with a dramatic modern design that meets a distinctive sporting character and a well appointed cabin brings a sense of occasion to every drive. The active noise cancellation feature filters out unwanted sound, making the cabin a cocoon like scene. Sanctuary optional PM2.5 filtration reduces odors, bacteria and allergens while CO2 management enhances the wellness of everyone on board. Plus, you can curate the mood of every journey with configurable cabin lighting and bring a hint of refinement to every drive with optional 22 way adjustable heated and ventilated electric memory front seats with massage function. Build your Range Rover sport@range rover.com USSport that's range rover.com USSport Inspired by Judy Blume's groundbreaking 1975 novel Forever Watch the.

Ashley Flowers (47:52)

Reimagined coming of age series about young.

Pam Newburn (47:54)

Love by Mara Bracha Kiel, the iconic creator of Girlfriends.

Ashley Flowers (47:58)

The epic love story follows two black teens, Keisha and Justin, as they explore romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other's firsts.

Pam Newburn (48:07)

Watch Forever now playing only on Netflix.

Ashley Flowers (48:17)

In another unprecedented twist, James and his attorney requested that he be allowed to visit the location in the woods where Brent Jacobson died because he wanted to be, quote, chained or otherwise secured to a tree or other appropriate fixed object within the shooting site. And all law enforcement officers at the shooting site shall withdraw beyond hearing distance from the location where defendant is so secured in order that defendant may privately confer with his attorney and the attorney's assistants at said location, end quote. But even as wild as that request was, the judge and prosecution ended up agreeing to it also. At that point, it was decided that the trials would be moved to Kootenai County, Idaho, because Bonner county had become too saturated with information about the case to produce an impartial jury. Between April and May 1989, several additional motions were filed and argued in court, which resulted in Joseph and James cases being unsevered, meaning they would proceed to trial at the same time with the same jury and judge. And the attempted murder charge for the brothers attack on Mark Palahniuk also got dismissed. By that point, I don't think the defense was as concerned about those issues as much anymore. Instead, James attorney seemed to turn his attention to suppressing statements that he'd made in that jailhouse interview with spokesman Review reporter Kelly McBride. James Attorney also asked the court not to show Brent's autopsy videotape or photos to jurors or display any of the blood stained clothing he or Joseph had been wearing on the evening of the crime. But those requests were later denied. A detail I found kind of interesting while researching this case involved Max Singleton, the guy whose house the Pratts ultimately surrendered at. Turns out Max had previously been arrested for what authorities described as a major cocaine and marijuana trafficking organization. Not long before this whole situation went down, he was actually on house arrest when the Pratts showed up. Now, I think it's only natural to wonder why, out of all the homes the Pratt brothers could have fled to, they ended up at Max's. Authorities told the press that they didn't think there was any connection between Max and the brothers, with one official saying that James and Joseph simply arrived at Max's house because they were looking for any place to flee to. Max confirmed this for reporter Pam Newburn when he told her that he didn't know either of the Pratt brothers prior to this incident. He explained that when they showed up at his doorstep late at night on January 12, they asked if he would give them a ride out of the area, which he declined to do. After that, they wanted Max to let them inside so they could get warm, and he agreed to do that, but only if they left their guns outside on a windowsill, which they did. After that, Max said he spent about a half hour or so talking to the brothers and encouraging them to turn themselves into investigators. Max was called to testify for the prosecution during the defendant's preliminary hearing, but it seems like he only agreed to do that in exchange for some potential leniency when it came to his pending federal drug case. But I'm not sure how great of a deal he got for his cooperation in the Pratt case, because Thomas Skene later reported for the Shoshone News Press that Max eventually pleaded guilty to being the head of a drug ring that operated in northern Idaho and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison. Anyway, on May 19, 1989, the Pratt's trial finally got underway. The defense attorneys argued kind of two things. One, that their clients were claiming self defense in Brent's death, and two, it was important for jurors to realize that the shootout and home invasion were separate crimes. The crux of that defense strategy was to try and convince jurors that the end of the manhunt occurred almost an entire day after the home invasion and their clients had perhaps not exercised the best judgment after being on the run for so long. The defense emphasized the notion that it was Brett, or more likely Steve Barbieri who'd fired first, not James. But the prosecution disagreed with that version of events. The state insisted that it was James who'd fired first and that it was his 12 gauge shotgun that had accidentally caused the W to his own leg, not an initial round fired by the lawmen. Still, Joseph and James Pratt testified in their own defense on the stand that it was the other way around. The closest version of the truth about what really happened in the woods that evening came out when a criminologist called by the defense testified about how many total shots had been fired and equally as important, whose firearms those projectiles had come from. This defense expert explained that at least 32 rounds had been discharged during the incident, which included at least 10 shots from Brent's gun, which was seemingly brand new information no one in the public had really known definitively prior to this. The criminologist's findings were a matter of contention, though, because the defense viewed his conclusions as proof that Deputy Steve Barbieri had been the initial shooter. But the state contended that was not what the expert's findings showed. When the case went to the jury on the evening of June 7, they deliberated for about 17 hours before finding both brothers guilty. Pam Newburn reported that James was convicted of 15 felonies, including Brent's murder and Joseph was found guilty of 16 felonies, which also included murder. Some of Brent's family members reacted to the news how you might expect satisfied. Barbara, Brent's widow, wrote a letter to the Bonner County Bee newspaper after the verdict was ready, which stated that she was happy with the verdict and performance of the prosecutor. She expressed that in her opinion, her husband's killers had ample opportunities to stop their rampage before Brent was killed. But they didn't. She wrote, quote, every time they had a chance, they had an option. They always chose the brutal force option, end quote. Barbara went on to explain that she refused to let what happened destroy her life or make her crumble. The last time anyone had been executed in the state of Idaho was in 1957, decades before the Pratts were convicted. So the journey to send one or both of them to death row was anticipated to be a potentially long and drawn out one. The linchpin of why they qualified for such a harsh sentence had to do with the fact that Brent had technically been on duty as a peace officer when he was murdered. So that was considered an aggravating factor, which if affirmed by the court, is what would trigger someone to be eligible for capital punishment. In late November 1989, less than a year after the crime, the judge who oversaw the trial sentenced Joseph to a minimum of 110 years, so life in prison, and James was sentenced to death plus 85 years. Brent's wife told the press that she was good with the outcome of the sentencing, and several of the survivors of the home invasion shared the same sentiments. Mark Polahniuk told reporter Mike McClain that he would be satisfied with the judge's decision so long as the Pratt brothers never got out of prison. Both men appealed their convictions and sentences in January 1990, with James specifically fighting to have his punishment commuted to life in prison. But by 1991, those efforts failed. James then asked for a new trial, but that request was also denied. He appealed again in 1993 and successfully got his death sentence vacated, which resulted in him being re sentenced to life in prison. As you can imagine, that did not sit well with Brent Jacobson's loved ones, including his wife and adult siblings, who felt the court's decision was wrong. Joseph Pratt also applied for post conviction relief in 2000 and again in 2009, but was denied both times. Fast forward a little more than a decade, though, to April 2021, and things had changed yet again, this time in a way few people saw coming. That year, Idaho's Commission of Parole and Pardons decided to grant the brothers early release. At the time, James was 61 years old and Joseph was 59. In total, they'd only served 32 years of their life sentences. Angela, Brent's stepdaughter, told producers for Oxygen that the brothers being allowed to leave prison early was incredibly unfair to her and her family. She said, quote, we have a permanent sentence of not having Jake in our lives forever. End quote. In the wake of Brent's murder, a scholarship was created at the University of Idaho in his name, and the U.S. department of Agriculture posthumously honored him with a service award for his heroic actions. Additionally, he was bestowed a posthumous Medal of honor award in 2011, and a mountain southeast of Sandpoint is named in his memory. The US Forest Service also dedicated the Mineral Point Trail to him, and it's still around today. At his Funeral back in 1989, Brent's mother shared a short poem from Theodora Kroeber that she believed appropriately embodied her son's legacy. It's a beautiful stitching of words that I want to leave you all with as I close out this episode. It reads, When I am dead, cry for me a little. Think of me sometimes, but not too much. It is not good for you to allow your thoughts to dwell too long on the dead. Think of me now and again as I was in life at some moment which is pleasant to recall, but not for long. Leave me in peace, as I shall leave you too in peace. While you live, let your thoughts be with the living Park Predators is an Audio Chuck production. You can view a list of all the source material for this episode on our website parkpredators.com and you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram arcpredators so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?

Delia d'Ambra (58:29)

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Ashley Flowers (59:02)

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