Ombudsman warns jails to protect inmates’ religious rights

Iowa county jails were sent a warning by the state ombudsman to accept inmates' religious request unless there is a security and safety risk. (Photo by Darrin Klimek/Getty Images)

The state ombudsman is warning Iowa county jails to not deny inmates’ religious requests for improper reasons.

The warning comes after a jail employee denied an inmate access to tarot cards used in folk Catholicism, Ombudsman Bernando Granwehr said in a news release.

Granwehr said inmates are entitled to First Amendment religious protections without government interference. A religious request should only be rejected if a “compelling governmental interest” exists such as security or safety risk.

“Courts have long been reluctant to define religion, and jail officials should be equally reluctant,” Granwehr said in the news release. “A jail’s primary concern should be to gauge the sincerity of an inmate’s beliefs and weigh that against the legitimate safety and security concerns of the jail.”

In regard to the tarot card case, jail officials raised no legitimate safety and security threat, according to the news release. The inmate’s request was denied because the official doubted the legitimacy of the inmate’s beliefs.

Marshall County Sheriff Joel Phillips acknowledged the ombudsman’s findings and agreed to better protect inmates’ religious rights, according to the ombudsman’s office.

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