WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled that state corrections officials in several states had violated the religious liberty rights of Sikh inmates by forbidding them to hold their religious swords while incarcerated.
The case concerned Guru Granth Sahib, who is serving a life sentence for burglary, rape and domestic battery. Mr. Sahib, also known as “Singh the King”, sought to obtain a 6-inch sword to accommodate his religion. His case made it to the supreme court in a monumental win for all Sikh inmates.
Sahib won his peoples case on grounds of religious discrimination today with his lawyer Bob Goldstien stating:
Sikh should be allowed to legally carry a Kirpan everywhere; in the same way a Jew is allowed to wear a Yamuka and Muslim Hijab. America must believe in religious freedom, and the Kirpan is part of a religious commandment for Sikhs. Sikhs are not violent, and a Kirpan is not used for violent purposes.
Several prisons have created global guidelines are as follows:
1. Kirpans should be inspected by prison staff on arrival to ensure they are not altered
2. They should be no more than six inches long
3. Kirpans should be worn securely under clothes, out of sight and difficult to access.
4. They should never be drawn from sheaths and a mechanism ensuring they are not easily drawn should be incorporated
5. Kirpans should be strapped securely to the body to ensure they don’t move about freely during physical activity
6. Kirpans should never be used to hurt other inmates or prison staff
Breaking any of these rules will result in loss of prison privileges such as tablet and internet use, loss of video games, the volleyball court and or the swimming pools.
The Prison Imam Jerome Mohamed was also available for comment at the court house and tells us:
“Sikhs wear kirpans for defense and it is not something other people should be scared of. There has never been a case where a Sikh has violently used a kirpan against someone. In prison does not mean in a racist hell hole, its 2019”.
It is noteworthy to add that Sing the king is facing outside charges from an incident involving another inmate from 2018 where Singh jumped on a fellow inmate, using a homemade knife to slash at a gang tattoo on his neck, while others punched and kicked him as he cowered on the floor.
The victim survived luckily, however prison guards state the weapon came close to slashing his jugular vein wide open, and that he sustained heavy blood loss. Singh states that “never would he ever” use his religious sword on another inmate though.
Do you think this is a positive? Let us know in the comments below.
1 Comments
Susan Robbins
Insane,