Murderer wins right to Wiccan religious items behind bars

AP ^ | 12/8/5 | Wayne Parry

[so_real]

Damn that slippery slope.

[jim_trent]

If in prison, my religion would include hacksaws, files, and an oxy-actylene torch as necessary for worship.

[Michael.SF.]

Wiccan Religious items:

[Michael.SF.]

If in prison, my religion would include...

You forgot the blonde!

[Guard Dog]

Ironic. The ACLU is right there to defend the rights of a murderer who practices witchcraft, but is nowhere to be found when a private homeowner is harrased by their homeowners association for the nativity scene in thier front yard.

[Darkwolf377]

So when does the ACLU call this "Literally, a witch hunt"?

[jecIIny]

Who cares. He is behind bars. Thats my concern. His religion is his own business.

[TexasTransplant]

>>>"If in prison, my religion would include hacksaws, files, and an oxy-actylene torch as necessary for worship"<<<

Those items are just for projects, I would also need 24 hrs per day of un-interupted freedom in the State or Nation of my choice, no supervision and a small weekly stipend to make sure I have enough cash to live the way that my Religion dictates.

(Guess they'd just send me back to New Orleans)

TT

[Bones75]

Sounds pretty lame but I say just let him have his Wiccan crap. Makes no difference to me. I guess if people are allowed Bibles or Rosary, et al, let him have his stupid Wiccan stuff.

[GSlob]

Wait!!! Witches' pharmacopoeia traditionally includes ointment for magic disappearances and transvection [flying through air mounted on brooms, goats, pigs and the like]. Neither it nor its ingredients should be allowed in the prison. And, indeed, the due process [as described in "Malleus Maleficarum"] ought to be followed. Whenever a witch is brought in the judge's [or warden's] presence, it is to be brought backwards, so that the witch cannot cast the first glance on the judge, to prevent bewitchment. Everyone on the prison staff is to be equipped with crucifixes, receive daily Communion, be anointed with consecrated oil and frequently sprinkled with holy water. And of course, do not forget the Spanish boot and thermal treatment.

[Bones75]

"If in prison, my religion would include hacksaws, files, and an oxy-actylene torch as necessary for worship."

(*chuckle*)

Yep, I myself am a member of the Worldwide Church of Mapp Gas

[little jeremiah]

Wicca is not a religion for two reasons:

1. It was invented by the Gardiner fellow in the mid 20th century, as an eclectic mix of this and that.
2. There is no God in Wicca, it is merely faux paganism without the real traditions. If Wicca can be a religion, anything anyone says, does or makes up can be a religion.

[sarasmom]

True.
Wicca is a recent cult, pretty much the same as all the quasi-religious cults that sprang up during the 1960s and early 1970s that eventually either died off, or suicided themselves.
Anyone remember Jim Jones?
The Moonies don't seem to hang out at airports anymore, either.

There might still be actual "witches" living and practicing their "faith" here and there.

The chances of finding one of them in a jail cell, anywhere, is rather minute, given their supposed natural abilities.

[metmom]

And they're trying to keep Christian groups out of jails when they allow this? I guess we can figure out who is in charge of *the system*.

[WasDougsLamb]

Wiccans say their religion is based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons....


------Just not respect for human life. Yep, there is a place for him in hell.

[Rakkasan1]

but does she float?

[bigcat00]

The problem here is RLUIPA. It says that before a prison can "substantially burden" an inmate's religious practices, it must show a "compelling state interest."
In practice, this tends to mean that if a prison cannot show that whatever the inmate wants is a direct threat to prison security, he can have it. Prior to RLUIPA, we had RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act), which more or less did the same thing, but was thrown out by the Supreme Court for other reasons. Prior to either one, all the prison needed to show was basically that there was a legitimate correctional reason for banning something.

Ironically, I think RLUIPA and RFRA were passed with the support of otherwise conservative Christian groupsl. Makingd it more ironic that the ACLU is involved.

[red irish]

That my dear friends is the truth trying to hide in the darkness.