Judge Orders Man to Take Wife on Date

Let the punishment fit the crime? A Florida man who appeared in court this week on a domestic violence charge was ordered by the judge to ... take his wife on a date. The charge apparently grew out of an argument Joseph Bray had with his wife—whose birthday he failed to acknowledge. According to the arrest report, Bray shoved his wife onto the couch, held her neck, and readied himself for a punch, but didn't actually hit her. At the hearing this week, she told Judge Jay Hurley she was neither hurt nor in fear. Because of that, and because Bray had no priors, the judge ordered what the Sun-Sentinel calls "whimsical conditions."

Hurley asked the woman what she liked to do and where she liked to eat, and her answer became her hubby's punishment. "He’s going to stop by somewhere and he’s going to get some flowers, and then he’s going to go home, pick up his wife, get dressed, take her to Red Lobster," said Hurley. "And then after they have Red Lobster, they’re going to go bowling." They were also ordered to begin marriage counseling. Explained Hurley of his decision, "The court would not normally do that if the court felt there was some violence but this is very, very minor and the court felt that that was a better resolution than other alternatives." (More strange stuff stories.)