CREEDE HINSHAW: Judge criticized for giving convicted felon hug, Bible

Some people argue just for the sake of arguing. It perversely satisfies them to get riled up and, in turn, to rile others up. Call them contrarian; call them troublemakers; call them argumentative. They’ll justify themselves by saying, “It grieves me to do this, but my argument is of utmost importance.” That’s nonsense. They’re doing it because they enjoy contentiousness, no matter how obscure the point.

For persons of such bent, no stone should go unturned in the cause of defending their version of truth and justice and American values.

Consider the recent outcry by such people in the case of a Texas judge and the felon she sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Texas Judge Tammy Kemp last week did something highly unusual. She hugged the woman she had just sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering her unarmed neighbor. Judge Kemp, who often hugged the families of slain persons in her courtroom, had never previously hugged a person she had sentenced to prison. But this prisoner, a broken former police officer, asked to receive a hug from the judge.

Some people, with apparently nothing better to do, have even criticized the hug, proving my point that even the tenderest gesture is fodder for some people to whine.

What saddens me, though, is the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which filed a judicial complaint against this judge for giving the convicted felon a Bible. After the hug, Judge Kemp told the guilty party to try to live her life with purpose so that she could become productive after serving her jail sentence. When the now-sentenced criminal said she didn’t know where to start and didn’t even have a Bible, the judge went into her chamber, returned with her Bible, read John 3:16 with the felon and gave her the Bible.

And for this, a judicial complaint was filed? A complaint was lodged not for bribery, malfeasance of office, treason, public drunkenness, sexual immorality or stupid tweets … but for giving a Bible to a convicted felon.

I get the argument about separation of church and state. I really do get it. On many occasions in this column, I’ve cautioned about entangling church and state.

But this complaint falls into the category of “You’ve got to be kidding me.” A person in a position of authority gives a broken woman a hug and her own Bible and people are afraid a judge has gone rogue.

In junior high school, I loved to argue with Mr. Wiggs, my seventh-grade social studies teacher. The more obscure the point, the more I enjoyed the battle. He upbraided me and sent me to the dictionary when he said, “Creede, you are too pedantic.” Synonyms for that word include: nitpicky, hairsplitting and dogmatic.

There are times when it’s better to just leave well enough alone. Today’s hypervigilant, hairsplitters need to ease up. If a judge can’t offer a hug and a Bible, we’re all in trouble.