Texas judge tells man 'Get married or go to jail'

Smith County, Texas judge Randall Rogers came up with an unusual alternative to jail for 20-year-old Josten Bundy.

To avoid the 15-day jail term on misdemeanour charges of assaulting his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, he could go to counselling, learn bible verses - and marry his 19-year-old girlfriend Elizabeth Jaynes. So he did.

Now Elizabeth's dad is pretty mad:

"He [the judge] can't do this by court ordering somebody to be married," ...Kenneth Jaynes said.

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The bride and groom look quite happy though, and they've probably saved enough by not having a 'big day' to make a deposit on a house.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-...il-judge-gives-man-choice-of-sentence/6682516

That's gonna be one hell of a marriage -- he is jealous and violent and marries her only to get our of jail. What could possibly go wrong?????

-- First, I am happy that this article isn't what I first thought it was from the headline -- that some judge wanted an adult to marry a minor girl he slept with, which used to be common back in the day.

BUT There is so much wrong with this. First and foremost, while on the surface it is kind of amusing and sets up a whole slew of "aren't marriage and jail the same thing" jokes, it is wrong to force someone to marry.

Next, did the judge forget about the separation of church and state??

The judge said he would grant probation if Bundy married his 19-year-old girlfriend, Elizabeth Jaynes, within 30 days, wrote Bible verses and attended counselling.

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Really??!!??

I am with the girl's dad and I hope he convinces her to get the marriage annulled. (At the very least, Dad, get her on some birth control! Last thing these kids need right now are kids of their own)

(BTW, I purposely used "girl;" she may be an adult, but she is only 19 and clearly not making adult decisions.)

The judge just may have ruined her life

I really can not get my head around this

Will this work like probation and if they file for divorce within a certain amount of time he'll be forced to serve his sentence?

Nothing like building a strong marriage on the foundation of a court ordered participation.