Separation of Church and State

Ok everyone. Hold on to your seats, because I’m going to yell. This is Tyler Alred. Tyler is 17. When Tyler was 16, he was drinking and drove. He crashed his truck and ejected his friend, who died on the spot. It is a very tragic, and far too common tale. What makes this different, is when the Judge, Mike Norman, sentenced Tyler to Church.

That’s right. His punishment is to attend weekly church services in addition to counseling groups and “wearing a drug and alcohol bracelet”.

So first off, what the fuck is a drug and alcohol bracelet? Based on the context, I doubt it’s a flask that you wrap around your wrist. Is it like one of those “WWJD” bracelets? If so, I’m pretty sure the knowledge that he killed his friend is going to have quite a bit more meaning to him than a bracelet.

Next, and here’s my main complaint, he was SENTENCED TO CHURCH. His punishment is to go to church. Which basically means that church is a punishment. I know that to be true, but I didn’t realize judges did too. Do you get out early for good behavior? Does he have to blow the priest? Speaking of the priest. Apparently  the Judge’s pastor was in the courtroom at the time.”I told my preacher I thought I led more people to Jesus than he had”, said Judge Norman.

The problem is, that it’s not Judge Norman’s job to lead people to Jesus. His job is to figure out if someone is guilty, and hand out punishment. This is where the separation of church and state was blatantly ignored. If a judge says “May god have mercy on your soul”, I don’t care. I don’t believe in a soul or in a god. It doesn’t matter to me. But in this case, the Judge is forcing someone who may or may not share his beliefs, to go to church. This is so unbelievably unconstitutional, that I hope this judge is disjudged within a month.

I mean, seriously. Can you imagine how much shit this judge would be in, if he sentenced the kid to attend a mosque? How is this even close to being legal?

I understand, that this kid made a huge mistake. I think he should be punished for it. I’m not saying he should spend life in prison, but losing his license for a few years. Maybe some community service. Maybe even some jail time. I’m pretty sure attending church is cruel, and is definitely unusual. Oh wait. That brings me to the best (worst) part. “The Lord works in many ways,” Norman, 69, told ABC News today. “I’ve done a little bit of this kind of thing before, but never on such a serious charge.”

He has done this before. Yeah. We now live in a country where judges send people to church. All you gun nuts who are complaining that the government is trying to take away your guns, the government really is taking away our rights. Freedom of religion is the same thing as freedom FROM religion.

Besides, how is church supposed to rehabilitate him? He knows what he did. He knows it was wrong. The solution is to get him to not drink and drive anymore (which I’m sure he’ll never do, unless he is an alcoholic). God doesn’t make that happen. The judge is ignoring the real problem here, and focusing on a philosophical one. Rather than teach this teen that his actions have consequences, the judge is trying to save his soul. I mean, does the judge really think that the problem wasn’t the intoxication, but that Tyler drove without the lord in his heart? What the fuck is wrong with this judge?

The article finished with this. “Only time will tell if we’ve saved Tyler Alred’s life,” the judge said. Again, not the judge’s job. That’s the job of the parent’s, teachers, and positive/negative influences in his life. This kid is not a hardened criminal. He made a seriously horrible decision, and he is going to have to live with that for the rest of his life. That, on it’s own, is a fitting punishment. Forcing him to go to church? That’s the real crime.