Religion informs the moral beliefs that shape many, probably most, Americans' views of criminal law.  To my way of thinking, this is a good thing.  The Constitution, however, separates church and state, and, to my way of thinking, this is also a good thing.  One of the reasons for this is captured in the following headline in the ABA Journal:  "Judge informs jurors that God told him accused sex trafficker isn't guilty."

Jurors in Comal County, Texas, weren't swayed when the judge entered the jury room and said that God told him the defendant wasn't guilty.

Judge Jack Robison said God told him to let jurors know that Gloria Romero Perez should not be convicted, report the Austin American-Statesman and the San Antonio Express-News. Robison spoke with jurors after they signaled they had reached their verdict, jury foreman Mark House told the Express-News.

Jurors had already decided to convict Perez on a charge of continuous trafficking of a person and to acquit her on a charge of sale or purchase of a child. They stood by their verdicts...

Robison reportedly said, "When God tells me I gotta do something, I gotta do it."