Runaway Bride Pays Her Dues

Who says we don't punish wrongdoers in this country? Who says we're too soft on crime? Who says if you have money you can skate?

Check out the runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks (search). There's video of her starting her community service Tuesday. It is part of her punishment for taking off from her wedding and, essentially, sticking the county with the bill for all the cops searching for her, thinking she was a kidnap victim and perhaps even a victim of foul play.

Ms. Wilbanks has to mow lawns at a government building in her hometown. She also cleaned up the offices in the probation department. And she also worked washing cars and trucks of various public agencies. Don't want your public workers going around in filthy vehicles.

Now, of course, technically she is not being punished for running away from her wedding and making life difficult on cops.

She was charged with lying to police when she claimed, at first, that she had been kidnapped. That story didn't last long.

So she's out there in the ball cap, orange vest, running shows and the lawn mower.

She has now paid almost $16,000 in restitution to the sheriff's department and the city of Duluth, Georgia for the costs of looking for her when she was, in fact, just off on a toot to Vegas. She has to do 120 hours of community service work, mowing lawns, washing cars, cleaning offices and such.

There were a lot of you out there who thought she should really have to pay for her... what was that? Was it a crime? I guess lying to the cop about being kidnapped and sexually assaulted was, but was it a crime to get cold feet about your wedding day?

Anyway, a lot of you thought she should be punished, so we're going to run the tape for the entire My Word so you can see her being punished for leading us all on a wild goose chase.

By the way, she didn't know anybody was looking for her at first. She thought it was a private matter. She knows better now.

Have you seen enough of the runaway bride mowing the lawn at the courthouse?

Good, she's officially punished.

That's My Word.

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