In the videogame Mafia II, the main protagonist is offered a choice between going to jail or joining the army during World War Two. Was offering convicts this alternative to jail a real practice, and if so what crimes would be too serious for it to be allowed?

by guto8797

Vito Scalleta gets caught robbing a jewelry store at 18 years old in 1943, and rather than going to jail he joins the paratroopers in the invasion of Sicilly. Was this an actual practice, to offer petty criminals an alternative as military service? Would rapists, murderers, etc be offered the same option?

the_howling_cow

I've written about this topic before here but I'll repeat it below. Before the mid-1970s when the practice was explicitly banned through changes to military regulation, this appears to have been an available option, but men accused of more serious crimes were barred.