Street preachers’ $500K bond ‘grossly unreasonable’

Two Mississippi street preachers who were convicted of misdemeanor simple assault have been released from jail.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two Mississippi street preachers who were convicted of misdemeanor simple assault for calling a woman a “Jezebel” and waving a Bible in a man’s face have been released from jail. A judge found they were being held under “grossly unreasonable” bond. The $500,000 appearance bond was at least 500 times the amount recommended by the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure. It was reduced to $5,000 each. Allan Grant Siders and Bryan Peden are preachers for Church at Jackson. They were convicted Sept. 22. Jackson Municipal Judge Jeffrey Reynolds sentenced Siders to six months and Peden to three months in jail.