Man Says He’ll Kill Girlfriend; Judge Orders: Marry Her

CANTON, Ga. — A man who threatened to kill his girlfriend and their daughter was ordered to marry the woman as part of his sentence.

Darrell Meadows, 26, agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct rather than face a more serious charge of threatening to kill Angela Whaley and their 2-year-old daughter, Nicole.

Whaley had sought the ruling, but critics said it was the wrong approach.

“You can’t make people get married,” said Teresa Nelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

Meg Rogers, executive director of the Cherokee Family Violence Center, said marriage can give an abusive man even more power over a woman and her children.

Judge Clyde Gober said in court last month that he chose the unusual sentence so Meadows would have a legal obligation to support the child. There was no evidence that the couple had wed yet.