The official date has been set for the return of the Ten Commandments to the Monroe County Courthouse, County Mayor Tim Yates' office has announced.

The Ten Commandments will be placed on the courthouse walls in a public ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, June 21.

The Ten Commandments will hang on the walls as part of a historical document display.

Monroe County's lawmakers in the General Assembly will be on hand for the ceremony.

The county took the Ten Commandments down in July 2005 after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union opposing the posting of the Ten Commandments.

But the outcome of recent court rulings and a new state law codifying the state regulations on posting the Ten Commandments as part of an historical display of documents has prompted Yates to make good on a major goal he has had for sometime to have the Commandments hang in the courthouse once again.

tommy.millsaps@advocateanddemocrat.com | 337-7101