Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who had been jailed for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples, has been released from prison by order of a U.S. District Judge.
Davis, 49, had been jailed since last Thursday after she was found in contempt of court for refusing to follow a judge's order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, reported Reuters. Ever since the Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples could marry, she had been refusing to issue the licenses, citing her religious beliefs.
The decision for her release came after the judge received a status report from the same-sex couples who had sued Davis for refusing to issue them licenses, reported the Huffington Post. In the order, U.S. District Judge David Bunning noted he was "satisfied" that Davis' office was "fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples."
According to the order, Davis must not interfere with any of the five deputy clerks in the office or it would be considered a violation of the order and "appropriate sanctions will be considered."
Now the deputy clerks, as well as Davis' attorneys, will be required to file a status report every two weeks to show Davis is complying with the order, according to the New York Daily News.
Bunning's full statement read: "The Court is therefore satisfied that the Rowan County Clerk's Office is fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Obergefell and this Court's Aug. 12, 2015 Order. For these reasons, the Court's prior contempt sanction against Defendant Davis is hereby lifted."
