The Nation - News from Aug. 31, 1989

A man who spent 18 months behind bars for having oral sex with his wife was freed from jail in Dacatur, Ga. James D. Moseley, 35, a carpenter, is believed to be the first man convicted under Georgia’s 156-year-old sodomy law for conduct between marriage partners. A jury had found him guilty of sodomy without aggravation because he admitted on the stand that he had had oral sex with Bette Roberts, his common-law wife of four years. Superior Court Judge Robert Castellani ordered Moseley freed on his own recognizance unless the state could find a better reason to hold him. Mary Beth Westmoreland, a senior assistant attorney general representing the state, said privacy was not at issue, that the state became involved because Roberts complained to authorities. The couple, who had two children, have since divorced.