Judge Allows Inmate To Meet Baby Son For First Time
An exception, a rare act of compassion for an inmate.
A man who happens also to be a new father.
This is nothing they teach you in law school.
Or how to be a judge.
Still, Louisville, Kentucky Judge Amber Wolf calls this “probably one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
Judge Wolf pushed aside typical procedures and allowed inmate James Roeder to meet his one-month old son for the first time.
WDRB.com reports that both Roeder and his wife, Ashley, are co-defendants in the same burglary charges.
“I saw her try to hold the baby up when he came out for his case to be called with his attorney,” Judge Wolf told WDRB on Monday. “And I thought that he hadn’t seen that. And it occurred to me after we finished this case that he had not met his baby — who was 30 days old — and that he was not going to get an opportunity to meet his baby anytime in the near future.”
That’s when Judge Wolf offered the new mother a chance to have this moment.
“It wasn’t really a judge thing,” she told WDRB by phone. “I think it was just more of a human thing. He hadn’t met his baby. And I could see that his wife wanted him to see the baby. And I know from previous interactions from Mr. Roeder that he had been very concerned about being able to meet his baby prior to it being born. And I just saw an opportunity that I didn’t want to squander.”
Here’s to a judge with a heart.
To the inspiration of a little baby.
And to hope that this couple can get their act together and make a better life for their son.
If you like stories about families and working through the hard stuff, you might like my book,
