Furtney is a no-show at civil hearing

SANDPOINT — A Priest River man serving a life sentence for ritualized abuse and a host of sex crimes declined to take part in his post-conviction effort to secure a reduced sentence, 1st District Court records show.

Dana Andrew Furtney was allowed to attend the civil hearing on Tuesday via phone due to his incarceration, but officials were advised that he refused to leave his cell in order to participate.

Furtney was convicted of nine counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, sexual abuse of a minor, ritualized abuse, felony injury to a child and domestic violence by a Bonner County jury in 2018. He was ordered to serve 25 years to life in prison.

Furtney was accused of using his deep religious beliefs to justify the victimization of his wife and children at the family’s former home north of Priest River from 2009 to 2013. A psychosexual evaluation determined Furtney had an antisocial personality disorder with masochistic and sadist tendencies, according to court documents.

Furtney’s petition seeks an amended sentence of time served.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall is moving for summary dismissal of Furtney’s petition for post-conviction relief on grounds that Furtney failed to corroborate his claim that Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen spent an inadequate amount of time preparing for trial. He further alleges that Jensen did not review evidence which would have helped his case.

Marshall said that the case against Furtney was the largest case of his and Jensen’s respective legal careers and Jensen went up against a “tsunami of evidence” against her client.

“The notion that she spent so little time assisting Mr. Furtney in his defense is laughable and ridiculous,” Marshall said in a motion to dismiss Furtney’s petition.

Marshall said the case would have undoubtedly attracted national press coverage if not for the remoteness of Bonner County, court records show.

Furtney, 50, is serving his sentence at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. He becomes eligible for parole in 2042.

Judge Barbara Buchanan has taken the case under advisement and will issue a written ruling.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.