Indeed. He's a victim of poor judgement by the judge.
But the family is blaming it all on anti-Christianism, when a simpler explanation is claimed, and possible.
The judge didn't say "no show of emotion" for nothing. I infer that there had been warnings about previous "non-verbal gestures and outbursts" throughout the trial. I'll bet the judge was very tired of disruptions.
I don't think it has a thing to do with "thanking Jesus". It has everything to do with maintaining order in a court of law. Judges maintain order by restricting sound and motion; nothing prohibited the defendent from closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer of thanks, for example. It was disobedience, not the particular words, that got him in trouble.
Think about it -- defendents get in trouble for disruptive outbursts all the time, typically having nothing to do with Jesus. If this were a leftist claiming victimhood, we'd be jumping up and down on him. If it was a Muslim who shouted "allahu akabar", we'd want to string him up for disrespect. This time the defendent happens to "Thank Jesus", and we're all sympathetic? Sheesh, must be a slow news day.