Posted on 02/07/2019 11:49:22 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked the execution of a Muslim inmate in Alabama after the state refused to allow his imam to be at his death instead of a Christian prison chaplain.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted an emergency stay of execution for 42-year-old Domineque Ray one day before he was scheduled to be put to death for the rape and murder of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville more than two decades ago in Selma, Alabama.
Ray has been held at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, since he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999. He has been a devout Muslim since at least 2006 and has been meeting with his current imam who has provided religious ministry to Muslim inmates like Ray since 2015, according to court documents.
The three-judge panel wrote in their decision that it was "exceedingly loath to substitute our judgment on prison procedures," but that "it looks substantially likely to us that Alabama has run afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."
"What is central to Establishment Clause jurisprudence is the fundamental principle that at a minimum neither the states nor the federal government may pass laws or adopt policies that aid one religion or prefer one religion over another," the judges wrote. "And that, it appears to us, is what the Alabama Department of Corrections has done here."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Two birds with one stone
ya beat me
Hey, maybe they could do a two-fer. You know, George Carlin electric couch style.
If the dude is Muslim, why is he even in prison for this so-called “crime?”
Looks like ya BOTH beat me!
Sheesh. Alabama was just plain stupid here. If the guy wants an imam, get him an imam.
RApe and Murdered a 15 year old.
He’ll need more than an imam to avoid the hell fire awaiting him, Muslim convert or not.
One has to read more details in the article to see what’s going on.
They will allow the imam to be at the execution. They just won’t replace the Christian chaplain with an imam.
“Ray met with the prison warden who ... explained the practices and policies that the Alabama Department of Corrections adheres to during executions. Among other things, the warden told Ray that a Christian chaplain employed by the department would be in the death chamber as a lethal cocktail of drugs is administered. The inmate’s designated witnesses, along with any spiritual adviser other than the prison chaplain, may be seated in a witness room ...
Ray asked if he could bring in his imam in place of the prison chaplain, but was told his request couldn’t be honored due to the department’s policy.”
Dear Alabama Department of Corrections, though I’m not a state resident, I do encourage you to allow the inmate to be executed with his imam present.
In short, this guy deserves punishment for his crime. Justice delayed is justice denied, you know. So grant the inmate this issue and give this a-hole the needle and be over with it.
Thank you.
El Stupido. He gets whatever he wants for a last meal, but not a chaplain from his own faith at his execution? Is Archie Bunker running the prison?
As long as they dip the bullet in pig blood right before they use it.
that's what I was thinking...he wants his imam to die with him?
What a sweetheart
They would allow the imman in as a witness which means he would not be in the same room.
Stupid decision
Let the imman be in the same room and execute the evil murderer
Me too!
Yeah, I was going to put it as "Sure, strap him in, too."
I’d do it for free; my own gun and ammo.
I’m with you two. Let him have his imam, I don’t get why Alabama would even fight against this. What a waste of money for the state arguing this in court.
Agree that it appears that way.
"...couldn’t be honored due to the department’s policy.” has the potential to harm each of us depending on who collected the most votes and dictates policy. Don't like the policy? Sue us in federal court, if you have the money or the connections. Thank God for the Electoral College.
By the way, since this convicted murderer/rapist had standing to sue over a State's policy, perhaps the next litigant who sues a State for its policy of certifying a non-NBC for presidential election will also have standing.
(No, I didn't read the case.)
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