In 1977, a Native American incarcerated in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary ("OSP") filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, against the Warden of OSP. The plaintiff alleged that practices and procedures at OSP denied his right to ...
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In 1977, a Native American incarcerated in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary ("OSP") filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, against the Warden of OSP. The plaintiff alleged that practices and procedures at OSP denied his right to practice his Native American culture and religion, in violation of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
On August 4, 1978, the defendant and other officials issued a new section to the operations of the OSP. OP-090301 expanded inmate access to outside chaplains to include Native American spiritual leaders. Inmates were also permitted to receive and possess items incident to the practice of Native American religion for the newly allowed religious worship, so long as the items were not in violation of some other safety requirement at the OSP.
On November 14, 1978, recognizing the changes in OSP operations, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Judge Frederick Alvin Daugherty) dismissed the case with prejudice, and ordered each party to bear his own costs.
Greg Venker - 05/21/2006
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