Judge Sentences Killer Then Performs Marriage Ceremony

Brace yourself for the story behind a set of wedding photos.

The beaming groom is a convicted murderer. A judge had just sentenced him to a long prison term and then, she abruptly switched from blind justice to Justice of the Peace.

That's right, she performed the murderer's wedding ceremony.

Incredibly, during the ceremony, the judge ordered deputies to remove the handcuffs from the convicted killer so the bride and groom could hold hands. She even allowed the newlyweds to kiss and then she actually offered them wedding cake, a vanilla bundt cake, she had baked herself.

The bride, Destiny Winters, defended San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cookson’s decision to perform the wedding ceremony.

Destiny replied, "She has a heart. She is a good woman. She didn't have to do what she did for us."

In a jailhouse interview the groom, Danne Desbrow, saw nothing wrong with a sentencing followed by a wedding.

He said, "I was smiling because I was happy, I was getting married to my love. Just 'cause I’m convicted, I’m not supposed to be happy?"

Even the killer's lawyer, Stephen Cline, was stunned by the courtroom nuptials.

Cline told INSIDE EDITION, "To switch gears immediately to a wedding, it was the most unusual afternoon I ever spent in a courtroom."

The loved ones of murder victim Kevin Santos say they are devastated by the courtroom wedding and especially the judge's part in it.

His sister said, "She just baked a cake for a murderer!"

But as the old saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. After the ceremony the groom was whisked off to prison to serve a 53 year sentence which is a long time to wait for a honeymoon.