 |
|
|
|
|
November 21st, 2012
11:51 AM ET
Judge orders teen to attend church(CNN)–A judge has sentenced a teen to 10 years of church attendance, saying, "It was the right thing to do." CNN affiliate KIKO has more.
Next entry »Paris Hilton whips up a storm in holy Mecca
« Previous entryBelief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Wednesday, November 21
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
| Part of 
Prayer changes things
At the very least it is tacit admission that attending church is a punishment.
The worst punishment for an atheist would be to go to heaven and spend eternity with dingbats like HeavenSent and this judge.
Very nice.
Okay, so going to church didn't stop this kid from being a drunk driver who killed his friend. How is going to the same church going to make him better after?
Because redemption is a process, not an event.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
If the drunk-driving manslaughter was committed by a muslim, would this judge have sentenced him to 10 years of mosque? What is the felon was an agnostic? Where would he send him?
They'd get prison only. Only good Christian drunk driver killers get the cushy church sentence.
Do muslims drive drunk?
Mis America 2010 did. Muslim. Busted. Got almost the same sentence minus the church that the kid who killed his buddy did.
I am glad that the judge recognizes that church is a prison and a punishment. I mean, let's face it: you don't send felons who kill people to Tahiti for a nice tan.
This decision needs to be overturned and this judge should lose his seat immediately.
And then do what with the kid?
@Bill
How about sentencing him according to the letter of the law? He was drinking underage, so fine him, revoke his license for a while, jail time if necessary, but sentencing him to go to a specific church when he may either be not of that church or part of no church is completely unconstitutional and stupid.
Bill, the correct thing to do if a judge thinks a chance at redemption is worth it would be probation and community service. Courts cannot order religious attendance of any kind without allowing alternatives. This has been proven repeatedly with AA, where people sentenced to AA have fought it on religious grounds and consistently won.
Basically, this decision violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. No judge should be allowed to keep his seat if he is so hostile to the basic document that defnes this great land.
But this kid isn't hostile to the church. He is already an attending member who sees this as a very merciful sentence he is willing to comply with.
@Bill
It still doesn't matter. It is still unconstitutional, and in light of what you say, it is a lenient sentence based on his religion, which may be even more egregious a violation and an injustice.
Ok then, apparently this 17 year old is directly responsible for the death of the passenger. Why is this not a manslaughter charge? This guy should be serving prison time for this.
While I am not conversant with the sentencing guidelines in this case, I suspect the judge has the leeway to sentence probation and church attendance as a form of public service. I'd be surprised to find he was negligent in his jurisprudence. To me it looks like a good kid that got caught up in a sad circuumstance. Hopefully, he will have a new awareness of the message he hears and experiences in his church community. Does anyone know if the deceased was also a member of the church? I wonder how the rest of the congregation will react. There is more to this story than CNN reports ( no surprise)
Man Hawaii, no wonder you won't go to reconciliation. You really like that vindiictive justice kind of stuff don't you?
@Bill
I responded to you conditionally. If you bring up that bullshit again you can forget any kind of conversation, because you're just showing your condescending, self-serving idiocy once again.
I don't care how you want to spin the judge sending him to church, the fact remains that it is unconstitutional, lenient, and a gross misuse of the authority being a judge grants.
@Bill,
where did you find this nugget: "He is already an attending member who sees this as a very merciful sentence"
I didn't catch it on the video.
My first thought here was: does he have to attend a specific church, or can he go where he likes?
Bill, you keep dancing aroung the Constitution. You are evading the point. Try to debate honestly instead of changing the subject.
It's simple: the judge can indeed show lenience if he thinks it is warrented. That is NOT what this story is about. The judge CANNOT legally make religious attendance part of any sentence. That violates the 1st and 14th amendments. Unfortunately, the only people with standing to sue are the victim's family, and they are church-goers, so this little rape of the Constitution won't be properly challenged.
He should be disbarred or forced to retire, but considering where they are, I doubt anything will happen. I do suspect that we will see more of this thing as a result from copycat judges who think they are above the law.
The intellectually dishonesty practiced by you and Topher and other Christians here speaks volumes about Christian "morality."
Is this judge providing equal alternatives for drunken manslaughterers of other beliefs (and non-beliefs)?
This is another hole in the dam of Christianity, and will be used as an example of why we need a separation of Church and State. This kid needs to go for a few months, then get a lawyer and sue for emotional distress and mental abuse and the State will have to cut him a fat check and slap the crepe out of that moronic, though well meaning, country bumpkin judge.
Drink driving manslaughter, and the punishment is. . . church?
Nice justice. Nice sodomization of the constitution.
go to church or go to jail isn't that forced religion
kid let me give you some advice get a new lawyer
one who will suggest rehab instead
or go to jail and stand proud in defiance of the tyrant god.....
but ether way you should probably quite drinking that beer is gods poison and you should not touch the stuff
Interesting story. The kid is 16, already a regular church attendee. Found guilty of vehicular manslaughter of his 16 year old friend and DUI. The options were to send him to the penitentiary or put him on probation with the obligation to stay involved in church. The defending attorney says the sentence is acceptable to his client and he sees it as getting a second chance.
So instead of actually punishing the person for DUI and manslaughter, we just slap him on the wrist and send him to church? If he is a regular chruch goer, obviously chruch/religion has not helped with his decision making.
He's 16. I prefer redemption to justice.
The kid should see it as a second chance; it's a GIFT, a "get out of jail free" card!
another charming xian troll who thinks his toilet is a baptismal font
I suspect that this is a technical violation of the 8th amendment.
i concur
Come to Jesus, young man.
Notice where this happened Tulsa OK.....lol inbred nascar country. lol Are we really surprised at the fact the judge is ignorant????? lol
And if I was the teen I would wear 666 each day I went to church.
Theology aside...if I was this kid, and I had to choose between spending 1-2 hours a week in church or spending years in prison (and all that comes with it), I'd take church in a heart beat. Who wouldn't?
Tom...this will survive judicial review because, unless the prosecution appeals, it won't be up for review.
If I were this kid, I would appeal. This goes against his 1st amendment rights.
yeah appeal kid. Take the 10-20 in Big Mac
Wow. Cruel and unusual punishment. Sounds like mental toture to me.
And if the kid say "ok, I want to go to the mosque" will that be ok ? Idiot.
Right? LOL
This will survive judicial review how?
By not being appealed.
As I recall the kid does not intend to appeal it.
This link redirects to FOX23. Eeeeeeew!!! I feel dirty just from getting that close to the FauxNews.