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Convicted man attends church

Cincinnati Enquirer, USA
Jan. 18, 2006
Dan Horn, Enquirer staff writer
news.enquirer.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Wednesday January 18, 2006

Judge required him to go to mostly black church

A man sentenced to church instead of jail attended services with a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation last weekend and says he’ll be back for more.

Brett Haines told a judge Tuesday that he attended the service as part of his sentence for a disorderly conduct conviction. He was accused of using racial slurs and threatening a cab driver Nov. 26 in Newtown.

Hamilton County Municipal Judge William Mallory gave Haines a choice between 30 days in jail or attending services at a predominantly black church for six consecutive Sundays.

The judge said he hoped the experience would broaden Haines’ cultural awareness and make him more tolerant of minorities.

Haines did not disclose the church he attended but said it was a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Cincinnati. He showed the judge a piece of paper signed by the minister to prove he attended.

His lawyer, Dennis Deters, said Haines enjoyed the experience and would likely return to the same church this weekend and, possibly, for the remaining Sundays of his sentence. Haines did not return a phone call seeking comment.

“He wants to satisfy the judge that he’s not the person he was the night this went down,” Deters said.

“His behavior that night was reprehensible and vile, and he recognizes that,” he said. “He wants to make clear to the judge that he’s not that kind of guy.”

Prosecutors say Haines, 36, was arrested after threatening cab driver David Wilson and Wilson’s wife. They say the intoxicated Haines threatened to punch Wilson, used racial slurs and said he hated black people.

Mallory has said he would not comment on the case until it is resolved March 1, when Haines is due back in court with proof he attended all six services.