An execution chamber. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
(CN) An imam filed a federal lawsuit against Alabama on Thursday for barring him from accompanying a Muslim death row inmate during his 2019 execution.
“It is the obligation of the state of Alabama to treat people of all faiths equally. In this case, for decades, the state of Alabama provided a Christian chaplain to people that were being executed,” said Gadeir Abbas, one of the imam’s attorneys, at a press conference Thursday. “When it first arose that a Muslim, a person who was not Christian, was requesting religious support in the execution chamber, the state of Alabama balked at it, they opposed it, and they litigated it all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Muslim group sues Alabama for not allowing imam into execution chamber
Updated Feb 04, 2021;
Posted Feb 04, 2021
Yusef Maisonet, an imam who voluntarily leads Muslim services at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, has been seeking permission to spiritually advise Death Row inmates at the time of their executions.
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An Islamic group has sued the Alabama Department of Corrections for not allowing an imam, a Muslim clergy, into the Death Row chamber to pray with an inmate at his execution.
Yousef Maisonet, an imam who volunteers to lead Islamic prayers at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, was denied the right to accompany Muslim Death Row inmate Domineque Ray during his 2019 execution. At the time, Maisonet described Islamic rituals that were required for Muslims at the time of death.
44 inmates at Bullock County prison test positive for COVID-19
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
The ADOC said nine more staff members have tested positive.
As of Monday, the ADOC said a total of 1,164 inmates have tested positive during the pandemic. Fifty-four have died.
Among staff members, 813 have tested positive for the virus, and two have died, according to the ADOC dashboard.
Besides the 44 inmates at Bullock, the most recent cases include six inmates at Donaldson Correctional Facility, four at Limestone Correctional Facility, one at Fountain Correctional Facility, and one at Staton Correctional Facility.
Staff members who tested positive were three at Holman Correctional Facility, two at both Bibb and Fountain Correctional Facilities, one at Bullock Correctional Facility, and one at Camden Community Work Center.
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