Can you claim sanctuary

The concept of sanctuary predates Christianity , going back at least as far as Greek and Roman temples that offered protection to fugitives. Early Christian churches competed with these pagan temples by offering their own protections, and by the end of the 4th century, sanctuary was a part of Roman imperial law. If a person murdered someone and then ran to the church to claim sanctuary, no one could could come in and harm, arrest or remove her for punishment. Even after the Western Roman Empire fell in , churches maintained their authority to protect people who had broken major secular laws.

Murder and theft were the most common crimes for which fugitives sought sanctuary in medieval Europe. While safe inside, fugitives might work out an agreement with the people they wronged in order to leave safely.

Yet more often, fugitives had to go straight from sanctuary into permanent exile from their city, region or country. This was especially true in England beginning in the 12th century, when the country legally regulated sanctuary more than any other region in Europe. A short sanctuary followed by exile was still better than a death sentence; and for many people, it was also better than prison. WAVE 3 News asked its legal expert, criminal law attorney Leland Hulbert, what it means to claim sanctuary in a church and the laws behind it.

WAVE 3 News asked Hulbert if in general, police could legally arrest someone who claimed sanctuary in a church after committing a crime. However, none of the protesters physically on the church grounds was arrested Thursday night, according to LMPD Interim Chief Robert Schroeder, because it was private property.

The city curfew only applies to public places like roadways and city parks. LMPD officers arrested some protesters who said they were on their way to First Unitarian Church; the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, called the curfew enforcement unconstitutional in a press release. ACLU members wrote the curfew is designed to silence protesters by violating their rights to freedom of speech and religion. Church leaders told WAVE 3 News that opening the property to protesters as a safe haven was the right thing to do to protect them from arrest.

The most important voices to be heard in this effort are the voices of the black leadership. The First Unitarian Church said it will continue to provide sanctuary to any protester for the remainder of the curfew order, which has been extended through Monday morning.

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