Sacramento Bee: Judge backs Redding atheist who balked at religious anti-drug program

[marmar]

Judge backs Redding atheist who balked at religious anti-drug program

By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton
[e-mail]

Published: Saturday, Apr. 17, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B


Barry A. Hazle Jr. served a year in prison on a drug charge. After he got out, his parole agent sent him back for being an atheist.

Now, the 41-year-old Redding computer technician has won a ruling from a Sacramento federal judge against the state and stands to collect damages for having his constitutional rights violated.

Even before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. decided in his favor last week, California corrections officials had issued a new policy protecting the rights of atheist parolees.

"This has been a long and painful process for me," Hazle said in a statement through his attorney this week. "The judge's ruling can't give me back my lost freedom, but it begins to restore my faith in our judicial system." ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/17/2685285/judge-backs-redding-atheist-who.html

[Lyric]

1. Good!!!

Glad to hear of this ruling.

:thumbsup:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. Tis more blessed to have faith

in our system of justice
than in some fairy tale creature from a two part book of rape, incest, locusts, man eating whales, and the mortal sin of crop rotation.

rAMEN.

[The_Commonist]

3. The comments section is fascinating.

Some people really do want to force their religion on others, while other people simply don't believe that people who have been convicted of a crime should have any rights whatsoever...

[Heywood J]

4. I hope they pay his lawyers as well, in addition to any settlement he gets.

Either profess your faith in the Christian God or go back to jail, peon! If you still don't, we'll burn you at the stake.

[Heidi]

5. Recommended.

:kick:

[lib_wit_it]

6. These faith-based programs are way too prevalent & get far too many people sent into their clutches

as a matter of course. This guy's treatment is an outrage. I hope this guy gets paid a fortune. And the parole officer should be fired.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Good. Anyone familiar with both 12 step programs & the Establishment Clause should realize

that it is WHOLLY unconstitutional to mandate people go to meetings or be involved with 'conventional' 12 step recovery groups without offering the choice of a suitable secular alternative.

[Solly Mack]

8. k/r