by TChris

In a less depressing story from Houston than the one below, Judge Larry Standley has defended his decision to require a man who slapped his wife to attend yoga classes as a condition of probation. Noting that publicity surrounding the sentence had caused the case to take on a life of its own, Judge Standley (apparently concerned that he might be viewed as taking a lenient view of domestic abuse) emphasized that probation had been recommended to him by both parties as part of a plea agreement, and noted that he only tacked on the yoga class as an additional condition. Asked to explain why he required the Yoga class, Judge Standley responded:

I'll tell you what compelled me to do it, simply put, anger is a result of a feeling of a loss of control. And more and more I start seeing people that feel like they can control others around them. And the people that are really into yoga, just being in their presence, it is calming. And if it takes effect, I think it will help this individual. If not, then he will get revoked and do a year.

Asked whether he was worried that the sentence didn't send a sufficiently strong message to people who slap their spouses, Judge Standley assured CNN that he would be "tough on crime" in the appropriate case and pointed to offenders he had sentenced to the Harris County Jail for the maximum term of a year.