News: Oklahoma teen sentenced to going to church

DAP

Quote:

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."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...ref=weird-news

Dickard

Should have worse punishment

Deuces

God bless him.

GotMyBlueprint

Quote:

Originally posted by Dickard

Should have worse punishment

agreed

ManDown

Quote:

Originally posted by Dickard

Should have worse punishment

Church isn't bad enough?

Kidding. But seriously, what the hell kind of a punishment is this?

rawwritsmikey

Get the gospel

Igrt

Whatever happened to Separation of Church & State????

rivers

He KILLED someone while being an underaged drunk driver and all he has to do is go to ****ing church. That's messed up BIG time.

Arking

So he already goes to church regularly anyway?

I can see how that's helped him out.

And let's be real, if he was black he'd be in jail for 25 years.

Qwerty

My damn state

rawwritsmikey

For people saying he should go to jail, I actually think this is a more appropriate and effective punishment. It'll teach him a lesson, keep him less traumatized from being locked up, and it isn't like he did it on purpose.

Jabril

Going to church will do nothing + why is he being forced to go to church? That's ridiculous and so inconsiderate of other religions, it sends the wrong message.

Quote:

Originally posted by rawwritsmikey

For people saying he should go to jail, I actually think this is a more appropriate and effective punishment. It'll teach him a lesson, keep him less traumatized from being locked up, and it isn't like he did it on purpose.

But what if he was Athiest? Buddhist? Muslim? Hindu?

Great Username

Quote:

Originally posted by rivers

He KILLED someone while being an underaged drunk driver and all he has to do is go to ****ing church. That's messed up BIG time.

He wasn't drunk, he just tested positive for alcohol whilst being under age. A dumb mistake, but I don't see how it deserves extended jail time. The guilt of his friend being killed seems like more than enough in this case.

Being forced to go to Church, however, is absolutely ludicrous.

(Cole)

This is blatantly illegal, as well as disgusting.

Patrick

One wonders which churches would meet court approval.

JonathanMinaj

Ladies & Gentlemen: THE WORLD TODAY.

theo.

What the f***? This doesn't make any form of sense. This is ILLEGAL.

Dancehall

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Originally posted by HausOfJabril

But what if he was Athiest? Buddhist? Muslim? Hindu?

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Originally posted by Patrick

One wonders which churches would meet court approval.

I actually didn't even think about this.

Crazy Lights

Quote:

Originally posted by Patrick

One wonders which churches would meet court approval.

A very interesting thought.

Such an odd sentence.

The Rocker

It's an unusual punishment, but certainly better than letting him rot in a prison cell.