A woman who got arrested for a DUI was ordered jail time and bible study! The judge ordered the woman to read the old testament and to write a book report. Click below for the full story.
A South Carolina woman has received a rather unusual sentence for drunk driving — jail time and a Bible reading.
Cassandra Belle Tolley, in addition to spending eight years in jail, has been ordered to read the Old Testament book of Job and write a summary of it for Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles, according to CBS Charlotte.
The 28-year-old received the sentence late last month, which also includes five years of probation and substance-abuse counseling, after she crashed her car while intoxicated, severely injuring two people.
Tolley, who has had a harried past, is apparently grateful for the religious assignment, according to her attorney, Amy Sikora, a York County public defender, The Herald reports.
Sikora claims that the 28-year-old was physically abused by a relative when she was a child.
A relative allegedly doused Tolley with gasoline and set her on fire on Thanksgiving Day, when she was just 11-years-old.
Burn scars can be seen on her face.
A pastor at Tolley’s church, New Vision Free Will Baptist Church, believes that the sentence will be beneficial for Tolley.
“I think [Nettles’] faith and his compassion led him to use the book of Job,†Rev. Daggett Duncan told The Herald. “Job made it through, and he wants her to know she can too.â€
The required reading, though rare, is legal because Tolley consented to it, according to Kenneth Gaines, a University of South Carolina law professor who specialized in civil and criminal litigation.
“Under normal circumstances, the judge wouldn’t have the authority to do that,†Gaines told The Herald. “You can’t just arbitrarily add anything you want to a sentence.
