A judge on Tuesday acquitted a Mississippi lawmaker of a domestic violence charge in which he was accused of punching his wife in the face because she didn't undress quickly enough when he wanted to have sex.
George County Justice Court Judge Mike Bullock found state Rep. Doug McLeod not guilty of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge during a one-day bench trial after McLeod's wife testified on her husband's behalf.
The Sun Herald reports Michele McLeod testified that her husband drank less than two tumblers full of wine, mixing them with prescription-strength painkiller on May 18. Michele McLeod said Doug McLeod was "in a state of delirium" when one of his limbs, "probably his arm," hit her face.
Michele McLeod had refused to cooperate with or testify for the prosecution.
Before announcing his verdict, Bullock said that he could understand after hearing the wife's testimony how Doug McLeod could have struck her accidentally.
Michele McLeod's testimony contrasted with body camera video recorded by a deputy who responded to the home May 18. In the video recorded that night, Michele McLeod described her husband as an angry drunk.
"Anything can trigger him to get like that," she told George County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Karg. "He lost it. He gets like that when he drinks too much."
Doug McLeod opened the door for Karg and said "Are you kidding me?" when Karg told him why he was there, according to the court testimony. After walking back inside the house, McLeod returned outside and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man."
Karg said McLeod was drinking out of a glass that smelled like "wine or alcohol."
"The court may have found Rep. McLeod not guilty, but as a member of the Mississippi Legislature to find yourself in this situation it is still an issue."