MUSKOGEE, Okla. — An Oklahoma judge says that a teen convicted of manslaughter will have to spend the next decade not behind bars – but on a church pew.
According to the Muskogee Phoenix newspaper, Tyler Alred, 17, was sentenced to 10 years of spending each Sunday at church after pleading guilty to manslaughter in connection to a December 3, 2011 crash that killed a friend, John Luke Dum.
According to police, Alred admitted drinking alcohol prior to the crash, and registered a .07 blood-alcohol content the night of the crash.
District Judge Mike Norman, in giving Alred a suspended sentence, also required Alred to graduate from high school and a welding school, submit to drug, alcohol and nicotine tests for a year, wear a drug and alcohol bracelet and take part in victim impact panels in addition to having to attend the church of his choice every Sunday for 10 years.
Prior to sentencing, a tearful Alred addressed Dum’s family and the court.
“I know my words cannot bring him back,” Alred said. “I did not want to do what I did. I want to change my life. I have changed my life.”
Click here for more on this story from the Muskogee Phoenix.
