Attitudes Can Be Just As Deadly As Fists

Earlier this week, the House Of Ruth Maryland got wind of an outrageous decision by a Baltimore County District Court Judge. We encouraged the tipster to contact Jayne Miller at WBAL-TV and on Tuesday, Miller broke the story about Judge G. Darrell Russell and his "unusual" decision to allow a defendant in a domestic violence criminal case to leave court, obtain a marriage license and then return the same day so that the judge could marry the couple in his chambers. When court reconvened, the defendant's new wife invoked marital privilege, which meant she did not have to testify against her husband. The judge promptly found the defendant not guilty adding, "....I can't sentence you as a defendant in any crimes, but earlier today, I sentenced you to life married to her."

For anyone who thinks that society's attitudes about domestic violence have changed, this should be your wake up call. The defendant was charged by police after they arrived at the couple's home to find the woman bloodied and swollen from being kicked and having her head bashed into a wall. Instead, the judge encouraged the couple to drive to Towson, get a marriage license, have the 48-hour waiting period waived by yet another judge and then return so he could officiate the ceremony in his District Court chambers, an act virtually unheard of in Maryland history.

Whether it was Judge Russell's intention or not, his actions that day sent a clear message. Beating up your girlfriend is no big deal - and if you are caught, marriage is punishment enough. Since its creation in 1977, the House Of Ruth Maryland has fought to change the attitudes and beliefs that allow domestic violence to continue. In a single day, in a Baltimore County courtroom, progress was set back 30 years.