Smith County Court Judge Randall Rogers turned a lot of heads when he sentenced Josten Bundy to either marry his girlfriend and write Bible verses or spend 15 days in jail.
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Josten Bundy was forced to marry his girlfriend, Elizabeth Jaynes, as a condition of his probation for assaulting Jaynes’ ex. Since he shared his story with KLTV, the story of his rushed marriage has gained global attention, with a petition filed to the White House asking for Judge Randall Rogers to be disbarred.
The charges came after Bundy socked Hannah’s former boyfriend in the jaw for saying what he claims were “disrespectful things” about Jaynes. The terms also included writing Bible verses and receiving counseling, as reported by KLTV.
“He offered me fifteen days in jail and that would have been fine and I asked if I could call my job [to let them know]”, the defendant told the station.
“My father didn’t get to go, and that really bothers me, I know he would have liked to be there”, said Bundy.
Rogers failed to return the AP’s request for comment.
Other, similar, cases may take valuable court time fighting unreasonable sentence options. Bundy’s dad and sisters couldn’t make it on such short notice.
“[I felt] anger; I used to be mad”, Kenneth Jaynes stated.
Young couple ordered to marry in 30 days didn’t want to get hitched so soon. “People were laughing behind me and the bailiff had to say ‘order in the court.’ It was embarrassing”. “Judge Rogers’ conduct was illegal and he should face serious consequences for it. His actions demonstrate a religious bias with significant implications for any nonreligious or non-Christian litigants appearing before him”, Freedom From Religion Foundation Staff Attorney Sam Grove said.
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However, the couple only had 18 days to put together a wedding ceremony. He told them they didn’t have to go through with it but they did, getting married at City Hall on July 20. The group, which advocates for laws not being influenced by religion, filed a complaint on Friday against the Smith County judge with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct in Austin.
