Preacher Granted Bond as He Appeals Sentence for Article Criticizing Judge

A preacher will be granted bond as he appeals a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for an article he wrote predicting God’s wrath will be inflicted on a judge.

The Michigan Court of Appeals granted a motion Wednesday for bond pending appeal, according to a press release by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Rev. Edward Pinkney had predicted in the article that God would smite the judge who oversaw his trial and conviction for paying patrons of a soup kitchen to vote. “The Lord shall smite thee with consumption and with a fever and with an inflammation and with extreme burning,” he wrote.

Pinkney was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for violating his probation in the vote case by writing the article. The ACLU contends in an appeal filed on behalf of Pinkney that his statements were protected by the First Amednment.

The amount of bail will be set at a hearing in the Berrien County Circuit Court.

“We are thrilled that Rev. Edward Pinkney will be home with his family celebrating Christmas instead of sitting in prison for criticizing a judge,” Michigan ACLU legal director Michael Steinberg said in a press release. “The court properly recognized that serious constitutional questions are raised when a minister is thrown in prison for predicting what God might do.”