08-01-2009, 10:09 AM
What a bizarre story... Victor stabs someone with a fork and will probably be in jail for a very long time and someone is still marrying him??
Judge gives inmate his day ... at the altar
By Charles Keeshan | Daily Herald Staff
![[Image: 172202.jpg]](http://i.dailyherald.com/stories/172/normal/172202.jpg)
Victor Bandala-Martinez
Published: 8/1/2009 12:00 AM | Updated: 8/1/2009 12:15 AM
Victor Bandala-Martinez is getting married soon, but his nuptials may not end with him kissing his bride.
Or hugging her.
And a honeymoon is totally out of the question.
That's because Bandala-Martinez is in the McHenry County jail awaiting trial for murdering his friend with a fork. Nonetheless, a judge Friday gave the OK for Bandala-Martinez, 21, of McHenry, to exchange vows behind bars with his girlfriend, who is not an inmate.
"Congratulations on your marriage," Judge Joseph Condon said.
County prosecutors, who accuse Bandala-Martinez of using a large fork to fatally stab 17-year-old Yair J. Cabrera during a fight in December, did not object.
"I have no standing to object," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said. "That's the defendant's right."
Although it would hardly seem the place for a dream wedding, couples exchanging vows inside the jail are not such a rare occurrence.
"You'd be surprised at the number of times nuptials are performed here," jail Chief Daniel Sedlock said Friday. "We've had as many as seven in one month."
The ceremonies almost always occur following the Saturday morning bond call in a courtroom inside the jail, with a judge presiding. Only the betrothed are allowed inside the courtroom, but family members can watch through thick windows.
Typically, Sedlock said, the couple can exchange rings during the ceremony, though it's only temporary because inmates cannot wear jewelry in the jail.
Whether they can seal the deal with a kiss, Sedlock said, is a decision left up to the presiding judge.
After that, however, the couple gets no time alone, nor any special visiting privileges in the future.
A honeymoon, for obvious reasons, is not happening, but Sedlock couldn't say for certain whether an incarcerated bride's or groom's fellow inmates could throw a prenuptial bachelor or bachelorette party.
"I can say that we don't let them go out for any road trips or anything like that," he said.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=310747">http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=310747</a><!-- m -->
Judge gives inmate his day ... at the altar
By Charles Keeshan | Daily Herald Staff
Victor Bandala-Martinez
Published: 8/1/2009 12:00 AM | Updated: 8/1/2009 12:15 AM
Victor Bandala-Martinez is getting married soon, but his nuptials may not end with him kissing his bride.
Or hugging her.
And a honeymoon is totally out of the question.
That's because Bandala-Martinez is in the McHenry County jail awaiting trial for murdering his friend with a fork. Nonetheless, a judge Friday gave the OK for Bandala-Martinez, 21, of McHenry, to exchange vows behind bars with his girlfriend, who is not an inmate.
"Congratulations on your marriage," Judge Joseph Condon said.
County prosecutors, who accuse Bandala-Martinez of using a large fork to fatally stab 17-year-old Yair J. Cabrera during a fight in December, did not object.
"I have no standing to object," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said. "That's the defendant's right."
Although it would hardly seem the place for a dream wedding, couples exchanging vows inside the jail are not such a rare occurrence.
"You'd be surprised at the number of times nuptials are performed here," jail Chief Daniel Sedlock said Friday. "We've had as many as seven in one month."
The ceremonies almost always occur following the Saturday morning bond call in a courtroom inside the jail, with a judge presiding. Only the betrothed are allowed inside the courtroom, but family members can watch through thick windows.
Typically, Sedlock said, the couple can exchange rings during the ceremony, though it's only temporary because inmates cannot wear jewelry in the jail.
Whether they can seal the deal with a kiss, Sedlock said, is a decision left up to the presiding judge.
After that, however, the couple gets no time alone, nor any special visiting privileges in the future.
A honeymoon, for obvious reasons, is not happening, but Sedlock couldn't say for certain whether an incarcerated bride's or groom's fellow inmates could throw a prenuptial bachelor or bachelorette party.
"I can say that we don't let them go out for any road trips or anything like that," he said.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=310747">http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=310747</a><!-- m -->