Judge: Go to Jail or Go to Church

[kpete]

BAY MINETTE, Alabama --
Non-violent offenders in Bay Minette now have a choice some would call simple: do time behind bars or work off the sentence in church.

Operation Restore Our Community or "ROC"...begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemenor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.

If offenders elect church, they're allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.

http://www2.wkrg.com/news/2011/sep/22/serve-time-jailor-church-ar-2450720/

[hobbit709]

1. I'd be in jail until the lawyers got done with that judge.

If church attendance had anything to do with law abiding, they wouldn't be arresting so many good churchgoers.

[WhiteTara]

2. Calling the ACLU! n/t

[66 dmhlt]

24. Already called & answered - It's UNCONSTITUTIONAL

A judge forcing anyone to be preached at as a literal captive church audience is clearly an onerous violation of the free exercise clause.

Lively discussion of a similar case at this legal blog - wih the Judge actually being reprimanded and suspended for pulling a stunt like that:
http://volokh.com/2011/06/16/judge-reprimanded-and-suspended-for-30-days-for-among-other-things-requiring-church-attendance-as-a-condition-of-probation/

[ZombieHorde]

3. Fucking Christ. nt

[rucky]

4. I'd go to Mosque every Saturday just to piss him off. n/t

[Hestia]

5. There are Pagan, Buddhist, etc., places of worship. Plus the ol' stand by Flying Spaghetti Monster

[JoeyT]

11. Not in Bay Minette there aren't.

The nearest Mosque that I know of is 40 miles away in Mobile. The nearest Wiccan anything is probably either in Mobile or Pensacola.
There isn't a synagogue or UU or anything else. Probably because it would get tiring having to rebuild every time you get firebombed.

Even if there was a church in the area that wasn't Christian, they'd never approve it. It's for participating churches only.

Looks like I'll be driving around BM from here on out. I'd hate for my money to go toward supporting the inquisition.

[Leopolds Ghost]

21. They've been firebombing that mosque in Tennessee as we speak. Paging the KKK...

Besides, everyone knows Southern Baptist Church rejects other christian denominations too.

[Solly Mack]

6. Fuck that bullshit. Fuck the people who came up with the idea.

Fuck the people who support the idea...and fuck Police Chief Mike Rowland.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. so people who attend church weekly anyways face no punishment at all?

how fair is that?

[newspeak]

8. I just love it!!! You know the world wasn't civilized

until the bible. of course, reading the bible, some of it isn't civilized at all. You've got preachers fleecing their flock and so called christians caught in adultery, spousal abuse and pedo.

There are many humanists that have done a lot for people who don't require a pay back of conversion or belief.

which came first, Hammarabi's law or the ten commandments?

Gee, see how far we've come? During vietnam it was military service or jail--now it's church or jail? This ignorant judge, not all houses of worship believe sunday is a sabbath day.

[panzerfaust]

15. ... er: The punishment is they have to go to church and

... have reason and rationality attacked - and if they don't like it, they can go to jail.

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. So Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is acceptable.

[Mariana]

18. I doubt that is one of the 56 (so far!) churches

in that have signed up and been approved to participate in this scheme.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. Uh hmmm

I'd choose jail but how is this even remotely legal?

[JoeyT]

12. The countdown to everyone in Bay Minette

that isn't Christian having committed a misdemeanor, especially if they advertise their lack of religion in any way starts....now!

Not that I'd have recommended driving through there with an evolve fish, coexist, or any kind of gay rights bumper sticker before this silly-ass law, but now they think they can actually force you to go to church or punish you for not loving Jesus. And until the ACLU or a similar group gets rid of it, they can.

So right about now shouldn't one of the "OMFG atheists are JUST as bad as fundies!" people be in here throwing a tantrum and linking to some terrible liberal town that incarcerates people unless they take an oath of non-belief? What do you mean there aren't any?

We're talking about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty_Joe_Weaver">Scotty Joe Weaver's town, by the way.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. This can't possibly be legal?!

I understand discretion of the judge, but if the only options are incarceration or "church," how is that legal?

[Raine]

14. I grew up having to go to church every Sunday so given a choice I would prefer jail. nt

x(

[panzerfaust]

16. "Rowland (Police Chief) says the program is legal and doesn't violate ...

... separation of church and state issues because it allows the offender to choose church or jail...and the church of their choice."

And what of those who believe that each individual has a direct living and vibrant relationship with God that cannot be found in any of the visible churches (which are all products of Man, and thus corrupt), or those who are Deists - who accept a creator, but not a hands-on God, or those who, even worse, are either pantheists or atheists?

SOL i would guess.

Methinks the good Chief's interpretation of the US Constitution is suspect.


But it is nice to know that the Middle Ages are alive and well in Alabama.

[mwooldri]

23. That police chief might need to get his attorneys onto this.

It is about as legal as trying to pay a fine with an eight dollar bill.

I can't see it even being remotely legal: I have never heard of anything like this being done in the UK in recent times, and this is a governmental system where there is an established state church - closest I could think of is being sentenced to community service and go see the vicar about mowing the church grounds...

Choosing Church or Jail? Sounds very Victorian to me.

[Obamanaut]

17. They have the choice - jail or no jail. Just as they had a choice earlier -

transgress some law of society or not to transgress.

[itsrobert]

19. I'll go to church and bring my smartphone/and or portable tv

Have some earbuds and watch football or netflix etc during the service. Or just take a nap.

[Ben Gay]

20. I think the poor guy in your Venn diagram is pushing for -more- overlap

of c&s! :-)

[Hoosier Daddy]

22. This is one of those "Can they DO that?" issues

Judges are vpart of the government. This is a First Amendment violation.

[B Calm]

25. This is the kind of shit republicans pull. They wait until there is a democratic

president and they pull this kind shit to rally the uninformed voters. Of course this is against the constitution, just like Arizona's immigration law. They wait until there is a democratic president and then start these pranks knowing they will be be fought in a court of law. Thus showing their uninformed base that only the republicans are godly and care about illegal immigration. It's all smoke and mirrors to get the working class to vote for the party for the rich.

[Generic Brad]

26. Freedom of religion also implies freedom from religion

This totally tramples the rights of non-believers.