Judge Sentences Teen to Church

[chaos]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/1 ... 46619.html

Tyler Alred Sentenced To Go To Church After Manslaughter Conviction
Posted: 11/16/2012 4:30 pm EST Updated: 11/16/2012 4:30 pm EST

An Oklahoma teen convicted of manslaughter has sentenced to 10 years of probation, with requirements that include regularly attending church.

Tyler Alred, now 17, had been drinking when he crashed a pickup truck at around 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2011, Tulsa World reports. The accident killed Alred's friend, 16-year-old John Luke Dum, who was a passenger in the vehicle.

Alred was not legally drunk, but because he was below the legal drinking age, he was still considered to be driving under the influence of alcohol. The high school student pleaded guilty in August to a charge of manslaughter as a youthful offender.

"I did not want to do what I did," Alred told the court prior to his sentencing. "I want to change my life."

Members of Dum's family did not want to see Alred behind bars, the Muskogee Phoenix reported. "We don't need to see two lives wasted for a mistake," Dum's sister, Caitlin, wrote in a statement.

Instead of sentencing the teen to prison time, Judge Mike Norman gave him a 10-year deferred sentence. In order to stay out of prison, Alred must graduate from high school; graduate from welding school; take drug, alcohol and nicotine tests for a year; wear a drug and alcohol bracelet, take part in victim's impact panels, and attend church for the next 10 years.

This last requirement "raises legal issues because of (the separation of) church and state," University of Oklahoma law professor Randall Coyne told the Tulsa World.

University of Tulsa law professor Gary Allison told KTUL that the church requirement "speaks to maybe forcing people to do religious activities that they would otherwise not do on their own free will … I don't know why a church would want to have someone come to it under the force of government,"

This apparently isn't the case for Alred, though. "My client goes to church every Sunday," defense attorney Donn Baker told the court. "That isn't going to be a problem for him."

[kv]

that is fucking bullshit...unless it was the defenders idea for sentence...if he is being forced without some agreement on his part thats massive fail

[Jasper]

Sure is bullshit. It should be reversed and the judge should be reprimanded, end of story.

If anyone out there thinks that it's a fine and dandy idea, I'd remind him/her that it violates the U.S. constitution and is thus objectively wrong in the legal sense. It should offend anyone looking to uphold civil liberties, regardless of religious affiliations or lack thereof.

[Hype]

That's like sentencing me to believe 2+2=5...

[creep]

if i was convicted of manslaughter and was given a choice of jail or church i would go to church for sure.

when i was 18 i got in a little trouble for drinking and i was sentenced to attend aa meetings for a year. aa is sort of faith based and god is brought up quite a bit. i thought it was fucked up that i was made to attend these meetings but then again i never felt that i had a drinking problem.

[Jasper]

if i was convicted of manslaughter and was given a choice of jail or church i would go to church for sure.

when i was 18 i got in a little trouble for drinking and i was sentenced to attend aa meetings for a year. aa is sort of faith based and god is brought up quite a bit. i thought it was fucked up that i was made to attend these meetings but then again i never felt that i had a drinking problem.

Well, the AA stuff is so vague that the "higher power" could almost something like astrophysics. The bigger problem is that they hide their important statistics, and despite being recipients of all kinds of funds, some say that they haven't demonstrated their program to be any more effective than person just going cold turkey on his/her own.

[Matz]

what kind of Colonel Kurtz type of judge is this? He can't just sentence people to this and that bizarre thing, he has to operate within some strict sentence guide lines, I would think anyway.
That's how it works here. And if a Danish judge ordered someone to go to church for 10 years or just once he'd be laughed out of town.

[Hype]

if i was convicted of manslaughter and was given a choice of jail or church i would go to church for sure.

when i was 18 i got in a little trouble for drinking and i was sentenced to attend aa meetings for a year. aa is sort of faith based and god is brought up quite a bit. i thought it was fucked up that i was made to attend these meetings but then again i never felt that i had a drinking problem.

Well, the AA stuff is so vague that the "higher power" could almost something like astrophysics. The bigger problem is that they hide their important statistics, and despite being recipients of all kinds of funds, some say that they haven't demonstrated their program to be any more effective than person just going cold turkey on his/her own.

It's simpler than that, actually. AA success rate is 20%. Non-AA success rate: 20%. QED.

[Pandemonium]

Maybe the kid got sent to this place:

[clickie]

I'f I was this kid I'd be laughin' my ass off for such a weak sentence..

[Hype]

I'f I was this kid I'd be laughin' my ass off for such a weak sentence..

Church is a shower-rape of the mind.

[kv]

but would you rather be raped or forced shower rape of the mind?

[Hype]

but would you rather be raped or forced shower rape of the mind?

If it's a choice between being physically harmed (in a way that doesn't damage my brain) one time and 10 years of church... man... I don't know. Tough call.

[clickie]

Church is a shower-rape of the mind.

I love that line right there.