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| Appeals court: Navajo inmate can wear headband, eat venison |
| By thonline.com |
| Published: 04/23/2015 |
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MADISON, Wis. -- A Navajo Indian imprisoned in Wisconsin can wear a headband in his cell and celebrate a tribal feast with wild venison, a federal appeals court has ruled. David Schlemm filed a federal lawsuit in Madison in 2011 demanding he be allowed to wear a colorful headband while he prays and celebrate his tribe's annual Ghost Feast with tacos containing venison rather than the beef stew prison officials offer. U.S. District Judge William Conley dismissed Schlemm's demands last year, ruling that prison regulations barring colorful headbands prevent gang members from identifying themselves. Prohibiting Schlemm from eating wild meat doesn't impose a substantial burden on his religion and the state has a compelling interest in both holding down food costs and using inspected meat, Conley wrote. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed Conley on Tuesday. Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote that Schlemm's headband isn't a plausible means of signaling gang membership since he has offered to wear it only in his cell or at group religious ceremonies and it will contain only earth tones that aren't associated with gangs. Read More. |
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