A district judge in Oklahoma who sentenced a 17-year-old boy to 10 years
of church attendance is standing by his sentence as the right thing to
do -- even if it may not have been the constitutional thing to do.
Judge
Mike Norman gave Tyler Alred a 10-year deferred sentence for DUI
manslaughter.
Alred was driving a Chevrolet pickup in the early morning
hours of Dec. 4, 2011 when he hit a tree. His passenger and friend,
16-year old John Dum, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The
church requirement is just 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 agreed to the terms of the sentence.
Norman said
the church requirement is something he has done in the past, especially
in child support cases. He has never done it for a manslaughter charge.
Ryan
Kiesel, the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU,
said the requirement to attend church is a “clear violation of the First
Amendment.”
“It’s my understanding that this judge has
recommended church in previous sentences, and I believe that goes too
far, as well,” Kiesel said. “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.”
Norman
said he didn’t believe his sentence would pass a legal challenge -- but
he doesn’t believe either side will seek an appeal.
“Both
families were satisfied with the decision,” Norman said in an interview.
“I talked to the district attorney before I passed sentence. I did what
I felt like I needed to do.”
In order to challenge the
constitutionality of the church attendance requirement, an individual or
organization must show that it has legal standing to do so. Kiesel said
the ACLU is considering what options they have.
“If the court or
the district attorney attempts to enforce this requirement, we will
look at possible ways to intervene,” Kiesel said. “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.”
The Rev. Bruce Prescott, executive
director of the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of
Church and State, said he is sure the sentence doesn’t pass
constitutional muster, but he is equally worried about the spiritual
ramifications.
“I’m a minister,” Prescott said. “I want people to
go to church, but it’s not helpful for a judge to sentence someone to
church. What will the judge do if the young man changes his affiliation
in the next few years? Will he be allowed to switch to a mosque or
become an atheist? Religion is not a tool of the state, and it’s
certainly not for the state to use as a tool of rehabilitation.”