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According to
court documents obtained on Friday, Smith County Judge Randall
Rogers gave the option to Josten Bundy, of Tyler, Texas, who was
arrested in March on a charge of assault causing bodily injury,
a misdemeanor. Bundy had gotten into a fight with the
ex-boyfriend of his then girlfriend and now wife.
The judge said he would grant probation if Bundy married his
19-year-old girlfriend, Elizabeth Jaynes, within 30 days, write
Bible verses and attend counseling. If he declined, he would go
to jail, according to a transcript of the proceedings obtained
by Tyler TV broadcaster KLTV.
"Is she worth it?" Rogers asked Bundy, according to the
transcripts.
The bride's father was angry at the judge for pressuring the
pair into marriage and was looking into whether this was
judicial misconduct, he told KLTV.
"He (the judge) can't do this by court ordering somebody to be
married," the bride's father, Kenneth Jaynes, said.
The judge was not available for a comment.
The couple, who had talked about eventually getting married but
did not have immediate wedding plans, is happy that they have
tied the knot. But did not appreciate being forced into it, they
told the broadcaster. They were not immediately available for
comment.
"It just felt like we weren't going to be able to have the
wedding we wanted," the new bride told the TV station.
"I didn't even have a white dress."
The newlyweds have posted a photo of their wedding on Facebook
taken from the county court.
(The story has been filed to correct name in third paragraph to
"Bundy" from "Rogers")
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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