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Commentary: 37 years later, pain of Liberty Park shooting lingers

Today is the 37-year anniversary of a terrible crime of white supremacy committed against innocent young Americans who had the nerve to be friends even though their skin tone wasn’t the same.

On August 20, 1980, a white supremacist, serial killer by the name of Joseph Paul Franklin came to Utah at the suggestion of a fellow LDS member to “do something about the race mixing in Liberty Park.”

Franklin was baptized in the LDS Church under his given name. We spoke before his execution. He shared the details of what led to that night of terror for his victims and their loved ones.