News, Offenders in Ala. town can choose jail or church. (rituals, priests)

[JD59]

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) - Authorities say non-violent offenders in southern Alabama will have a new choice: Go to jail, or go to church every Sunday for a year.

WKRG-TV reports () that Operation Restore Our Community begins next week.Serve Time In Jail...Or In Church? | WKRG

My Way News - Offenders in Ala. town can choose jail or church

[Heartsong]

What if the offender already goes to church every Sunday? ;-)

[Heartsong]

Another funny thought I had... Could be a strong deterrent to threaten people with having to sit among a judgemental congregation for a year. Do you suppose the offender will have to wear a badge or a mark of some type?

[Woodrow LI]

Does that mean they assume all offenders are Christian or does it mean non-Christian offenders will have to convert?

[ChristyGrl]

I can see the ACLU laughing it up as we post...this type of sentence will NEVER stand up in a court of law. We have separation of church and state for a reason...one cannot be forced to participate in religious rituals by the state or any government agency for that matter.

[cpg35223]

You know, there's a corollary to this: Judges requiring people to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

AA is essentially a religious outreach program where participants have to admit powerlessness and put their trust in a higher power.

I'm a person of faith, but this is total baloney. And it also explains why AA's cure rate is so dismally low. Sure, we hear about the success stories, but nobody ever publicizes its failures.

[Cavaturaccioli]

This strikes me as manifestly violative of the 14th Amendment too in that it gives the religious an escape hatch from prison but not the irreligious.

[purehuman]

Originally Posted by Heartsong

What if the offender already goes to church every Sunday? ;-)

My question exactly!....and when you really think about it....how many priests have seriously offended, and damaged others.....what then?

[purehuman]

Originally Posted by Heartsong

Another funny thought I had... Could be a strong deterrent to threaten people with having to sit among a judgemental congregation for a year. Do you suppose the offender will have to wear a badge or a mark of some type?

yeh....probably the mark of Cain!!

[Asheville Native]

The church of a nice tall cold beer

Services every Saturday night.