Romance lives at Riker's Island

NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- Prisoners at New York's Riker's Island still find time for a bit of romance, with 180 weddings taking place in the joint last year alone, a minister said.

The Rev. David Staton said marriages at the prison are as legally binding as any other, but the events at Riker's present quite a different atmosphere than those on the outside, The New York Times reported Saturday.

"Once you say 'I do,' he is going his way and you are going your way," Staton said. "They are not going home together."

Hakim El-Quhir, deputy warden for programs at the prison, said nuptials in on-site chapels are nothing like the pomp-and-circumstance ceremonies most people are accustomed to seeing.

"It's a real quick service," El-Quhir told the Times. "They come here, they say 'I do,' and they kiss, all teary-eyed. And he is on his way."

Honeymoons for such services are seriously delayed since the prison does not allow conjugal visits, even for married couples.