A Texas judge has handed down an unusual sentence, ordering that, as an alternative to jail time, the accused must get married and write down Bible verses.
Josten Bundy was accused of punching his girlfriend, Elizabeth Jaynes’s, ex-boyfriend because her ex-boyfriend said “disrespectful things,” according to The Daily Beast.
Smith County Judge Randall Rogers presented Bundy with two alternatives: either he would get 15 days of jail time or he had to marry Jaynes, along with writing down Bible verses and going to counseling.
“You know, as a part of my probation, you’re going to have to marry her…within 30 days?” Rogers told Bundy.
Although Bundy, 21, and Jaynes, 19, said they had discussed marriage in the past, neither was ready to tie the knot within 30 days.
“It just felt like we weren't going to be able to have the wedding we wanted,” Jaynes said. “It was just going to be kind of pieced together; I didn't even have a white dress.”
Bundy stated he would have actually preferred the jail time had he not been afraid of losing his job due to taking so much time off.
The couple was married 18 days into Bundy’s probation period. Bundy’s family wasn’t able to make it to the wedding because of the short notice.
Although Judge Randall’s sentence is unorthodox, this is not the first time a judge has made marriage the payment for a crime, although such sentences are more common in countries other than America which have stricter laws against premarital sex.
Photo courtesy: flickr.com
Publication date: August 14, 2015
