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Prisoners' Religious Rights at Center of Lawsuit, Minn. State Policy Change
Updated: 10/29/2014 10:49 PM
Created: 10/29/2014 7:57 PM KSTP.com
By: Stephen Tellier
Should a prisoner be allowed to grow a beard? Or wear a yarmulke? Or a Muslim headscarf?
They're questions that are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. And now, the state of Minnesota is being sued over its policy, even after it was pressured into a key change a few weeks ago.
It's a debate that pits religious freedom against safety and security, and it's playing out in our state as we speak.
"Religious freedom is a big issue right now, but the Supreme Court has pretty consistently held that prisoners don't have a lot of religious rights," said Marie Failinger, a law professor at Hamline University.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3604905.shtml
2:18 video at link.