thedailywhat:

This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: The city of Bay Minette, Alabama, has launched a new initiative that allows non-violent offenders to choose between doing time behind bars, or spending their Sundays at church.

The initiative, called Operation Restore Our Community, will ostensibly reduce the financial burden of locking up convicted criminals by allowing them to work off their sentence at a church of their choice.

Offenders must check in with their pastor and the police department on a weekly basis. If they attend church every Sunday for a year, their case will be dismissed.

Bay Minette Police Chief Mike Rowland says the program is not in violation of church-state separation laws because the choice between church and jail is left up to the offenders.

[wkrg / thanks anon!]