Ohio judge sentences Catholic man to 12 weeks of Baptist church

Judge William Mallory handed down an unusual sentence last week

(Image credit: Twitter/@Enquirer)

published 1 June 2016

Jake Strotman, 23, faced judgment at Cincinnati's Hamilton County Courthouse last week over a January brawl outside a Cincinnati Cyclones game, and Judge William Mallory handed down an unusual sentence: 12 consecutive Sundays attending the Morning Star Baptist Church, all 90 minutes of the service, with his program signed by a minister, Joshua Johnson. Strotman, who is Catholic, also paid $480 in court fines and $2,800 to his lawyer. Now, "before you go getting into a snit," says Chris Graves, who tells the story at the Cincinnati Enquirer, "you should know the sentence was Strotman's idea."

Briefly, Strotman, who'd been drinking at the game, approached Johnson and other street preachers, "asking them: 'Why do you think you can condemn people?' I didn't understand why they thought they could judge me," as he explained in court. Someone else got involved, and yelling led to a broken camera and a fistfight, during which, Strotman says, he accidentally put his hand on Johnson's face, breaking his glasses and cutting his face. When Judge Mallory threatened to send Strotman to jail for his misdemeanor attempted assault conviction, Strotman offered an alternative: "Your honor, if I may, I would be more than happy to serve a church of your choosing." Read the rest of the story, including some iffy quotes from the judge, at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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