PENANCE INSTEAD OF PRISON

17-year-old convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 10 years in church

The ACLU is planning to file a complaint with the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints seeking an official reprimand or other sanctions against the judge for violating the separation of church and state. While its complaint seems to be correct, I believe the ACLU should leave well enough alone. In this case, where the drunk driving of a teenager killed his friend, the judge’s sentence serves the best interests of justice for everyone concerned.

TEEN GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER SENTENCED TO GO TO CHURCH FOR 10 YEARS
A drunken car crash led to the death of his friend. Although both families agreed to the sentence, the ACLU thinks it mixes church and state

By Michael Walsh

New York Daily News
November 21, 2012

An Oklahoma teen was sentenced to a decade of attending church for manslaughter.

Tyler Alred, 17, pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter for a car accident that resulted in his friend’s death. John Dum, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene after Alred, who had been drinking, crashed his pickup truck into a tree last December, authorities said.

But Muskogee County Judge Mike Norman handed down a lighter sentence than expected: 10 years in the church pews rather a jail cell. This deferred sentence is contingent upon Alred also completing high school and welding school.

The victim’s family and Alred’s attorney agreed to these terms. Nevertheless, the sentence generated controversy for mixing church with state matters.

Ryan Kiesel, the executive director of the ACLU’s Oklahoma chapter, criticized the judge’s decision as unconstitutional, reported RNS.

“It’s my understanding that this judge has recommended church in previous sentences, and I believe that goes too far, as well,” said Kiesel. “This, however, actually making it a condition of a sentence, is a clear violation of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”

The sentence, on the other hand, has its supporters. Boulevard Christian Church Pastor James McCracken claims that the cross is, in his opinion, “the ultimate sign of hope,” according to Fox 23.

"I believe that being in a church situation puts you in an environment where you can hear things that will change your life,” said McCracken.