A district judge in Oklahoma sentenced a 17-year-old boy to 10 years of church attendance for a DUI/DWI manslaughter offense.
Tyler Alred, the teen offender, was driving a Chevrolet pickup in the early morning hours of December 4, 2011 when he hit a tree, in the process killing his passenger and friend, 16-year old John Dum. A breathalyzer test showed that his blood alcohol content then was under the state’s legal alcohol limit but he had been drinking underage which is also illegal. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in August.
Last Tuesday, Judge Mike Norman handed Alred a maximum 10-year deferred sentence within which he must attend a church of his choosing – weekly.
The mandatory weekly church attendance is one of the conditions that Norman placed on Alred’s deferred sentence. The judge also ordered him to finish high school and complete welding school. Both Alred’s attorney and the victim’s family reportedly agreed to the terms of the sentence.
Judge Norman is aware that his sentencing poses a legal challenge. However, he believes that neither side will be seeking an appeal. Said he to reporters, “Both families were satisfied with the decision. I talked to the district attorney before I passed sentence. I did what I felt like I needed to do.”
Ryan Kiesel, the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU, in an interview said the requirement to attend church is a “clear violation of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment...If the court or the district attorney attempts to enforce this requirement, we will look at possible ways to intervene. I know the boy agreed to this, but is someone facing a judge in open court really making a voluntary decision? Government officials should not be involved in what is a very personal choice.”