Prison Inmates in New York Sue Over Removal of Religious Books

Prison inmates at the Otisville, N..Y., federal prison camp, have gone to court over the removal of religious books from prison chapel libraries, according to a CBS report on cbs2chicago.com.

The removal of the books is in response to a federal directive which is designed to keep radical religious books from falling into the hands of violent inmates. The directive, which was a consequence of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was finally enforced at Otisville and noticed by the inmates on Memorial Day.

According to CBS, the removal is nation-wide and is aimed at all religions, although Islam seems to be a particular target. The lawsuit was filed by three inmates who say that the book removal policy violates their Constitutional First Amendment rights. In the suit, they claim that some of the books that were taken were ones used by the Christian population of the prison to "minister to new converts when come in here," according to John Okon who spoke on behalf of the prison's Christians. In the CBS report, Okon says he is concerned about the loss of the books because he has seen "religion turn around the life of some of these men."

Speaking for the government, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian Feldman explained that the number of books for each religion is limited to 100-150 books. He said that number could increase in the future.

One reason for delaying the implementation of the policy so long after the September 2001 attacks, according to CBS, was because of the time involved in the process of prison officials reading through the books to see what would be permitted and what would not.

Books are not the only concern with regard to prison religious life. Feldman went on to explain that another issue concerns the people who conduct services for the prisoners. Feldman told CBS that prisons "had been radicalized by inmates who were practicing or espousing various extreme forms of religion, specifically Islam, which exposed security risks to the prisons and beyond the prisons to the public at large."

The review of prison ministry procedures also urges that worship areas, chapel classrooms, and religious services be monitored in order to eliminate extreme or radical viewpoints. In response to the claim of First Amendments being violated, Ron Kuby, a civil rights lawyer told CBS that the issue is not that clear-cut because being in prison is a limitation of prisoners' First Amendment rights in itself.

Source:

cbs2chicago.com/topstories/topstories_story_161144628.html