2nd judge upholds release of woman

After Jordan Graham was freed Thursday from the Missoula County jail, a second judge reaffirmed the ruling ordering her release.

Graham, 22, is accused of murdering her husband of eight days, 25-year-old Cody Johnson, by pushing him off a cliff in Glacier National Park on July 7. 

On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch ordered her release following a detention hearing. He determined the government failed to show she was a flight risk or enough of a threat to the community or herself to keep her behind bars.

Assistant U.S. attorneys immediately filed a motion to stay Graham’s release, but that too was denied by Lynch.

Another motion filed to put Graham back behind bars was the subject of a hearing Friday morning, but U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy chose at the end of the hearing to reaffirm Lynch’s decision.

An order setting conditions of release filed after Thursday’s detention hearing put several requirements on Graham.

Graham has been placed in home detention and must not change her residence without prior permission, avoid all contact with witnesses or codefendants, report as directed, surrender her passport if she has one and wear an ankle monitor.

She also is barred from possessing a “firearm, destructive device or other dangerous weapon” and may not obtain or apply for a passport.

If Graham knowingly fails to appear when required or fails to turn herself in to serve her sentence if she is convicted, she could face additional punishment.

A message left with Graham’s attorney Michael Donahoe was not returned.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.