Getty Image / Brett Carlsen
In April of this year, Country Music superstar Morgan Wallen was arrested for throwing a chair off the roof of Eric Church’s bar in Nashville and charged with three felonies including reckless endangerment. Morgan Wallen received sentencing this week and the felony was reduced to misdemeanors but he will spend time in jail, and overall the sentence appears to have puzzled many of his fans.
As part of a plea agreement, Morgan Wallen pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment which is a drastic reduction from the three Class E felonies he was facing. The terms of Wallen’s plea agreement stipulate he will now be jailed for 7 days in a DUI education center and he will be placed on probation for a period of 2 years. According to reports, he had been anticipating a jail sentence of some sort for several months now. Wallen will also pay a $350 fee + court costs.
The aspect of Morgan Wallen’s sentence that seems to have puzzled many of his fans is his jailing inside of a DUI education center. Many on X, formerly Twitter, pointed out that Morgan Wallen threw a chair off of a roof in Nashville and at no point was behind the wheel of a vehicle. To lump this in with DUI treatment may seem odd but the reality of the situation is the DUI education center has the qualified staff that Judge Cynthia Chappell believes could make an impact on Morgan Wallen at this crucial time for him.
At the sentencing, Wallen’s lawyer Worrick Robinson read a statement which included “upon the successful completion of his probation, the charges will be eligible for dismissal and expungement. Mr. Wallen has cooperated fully with authorities throughout these last eight months, directly communicating and apologizing to all involved. Mr. Wallen remains committed to making a positive impact through his music and foundation.”
In response to Morgan Wallen’s sentence being announced, one of his fans on X posited the question “This is the absurdity with the judicial system. Why is he attending a DUI course?” In the same thread, another joked “he wasn’t operating the chair, he threw it.”
What Is A DUI Education Center Where Morgan Wallen Will Be Jailed Like For Inmates?
There is a lot of information online about DUI Education Centers, something that Tennessee appears to have more than a few of. They were created in large part as a medical necessity due to many people being arrested and sentenced for DUI suffering from a dependency on alcohol and consequent clinical withdrawal once incarcerated.
These facilities function both as a place for education, incarceration, and rehabilitation. So while it might seem odd that Morgan Wallen will serve his 7-day jail sentence inside of a DUI facility the judge certainly has her reasons.