Alabama offer of church attendance or jail draws protest


MOBILE, Ala | Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:35pm EDT

(Reuters) - Officials in Bay Minette, Alabama delayed a new program that
would allow some nonviolent offenders to choose church over jail after a
civil liberties group objected.

The "Operation Restore Our Community" initiative was slated to begin
this week, but the southwest Alabama city's legal team will take another
look after the American Civil Liberties Union sent a cease-and-desist
letter Monday.

Bay Minette police Chief Michael Rowland said he expects the criminal
diversion program to be approved within weeks.

"There is no question it is within the purview of the law," Rowland told
Reuters on Tuesday. "It's not about trying to save anybody. It's about
giving them access to community resources that can help them make better
choices in their lives."

The program would give certain first-time, nonviolent offenders the
option of attending religious services for one year rather than serve
jail time. Participants could have their cases dismissed upon successful
completion.

The ACLU has demanded the program be dismantled, calling it an abuse of
the state's police power that "flagrantly violates" both the U.S. and
Alabama constitutions.

Allison Neal, legal director for the ACLU of Alabama, said the
organization applauds Bay Minette leaders for re-evaluating the program
but believes suggestions that it presents a fair choice are misleading.

"The government is not supposed to serve as a conduit for church
recruitment," Neal said.

"When the only alternative to going to church is going to jail, that's
not really a choice," she said, citing case law that prohibits courts
from making participation in religious activities part of parole,
probation or sentencing.

Rowland said the ACLU's letter was premature and misunderstood the
program's intent.

The police chief said faith-based leaders approached him in March after
a neighborhood shooting asking what they could do "as pastors and as
representatives of the community to help stem future incidents of violence."

A series of community meetings yielded "overwhelming" support for
grass-roots intervention, he said.

He said the weekly reporting requirement is simply a tracking mechanism
to gauge compliance and not to mandate morality.

Participants would choose their place of worship and could opt out at
any time by appearing before a judge and requesting another sentencing
option, he said.

"We're saying here's another tool in the judge's toolbox," Rowland said.

"Operation Restore Our Community is completely voluntary. It's not an
issue of 'Go to church, or go to jail.' It's 'Here's another alternative
to consider,' and the offenders themselves get to make the decision."
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I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.