Rasta sues for right to worship in prison

Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

A RASTAFARIAN inmate in one of the island's maximum security prisons, has filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the Government, seeking to have his religion given equal status with other religions in the prisons.

According to the prisoner, Kevin Hall, who has been imprisoned at the South Camp Rehabilitation Centre for more than a year, he has been denied the right of freedom of religion and the right of freedom to manifest his religion and belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

He accuses the prison authorities of discrimination against Rastafarians claiming that inmates who adhered to other creeds were permitted to observe their religious rites and he was not. He was therefore entitled to redress, he said.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the law firm Gifford, Thompson and Bright and named the Commissioner of Corrections and the Attorney-General as respondents.

Howard Hamilton, Q.C., Public Defender, responding to questions about the strength of Mr. Hall's case, told The Sunday Gleaner, "The lawyers will be relying on legal authorities outside of Jamaica." He added, "These are people who are familiar with the Rastafarian faith and are satisfied with the theistic criteria of the religion."

In court documents in support of his lawsuit, Mr. Hall said that since January 2001 he became interested in being baptised in the Church of Haile Selassie I. He said various elders of the church visited him, but the visits took place under ordinary visiting conditions.

"The visitor and I are required to shout at each other through a narrow grille in order to be heard, with other visitors and inmates also shouting in close proximity. It is impossible to have any peace and quiet or to benefit from the instruction and guidance which is being given," the inmate said.

He said that from his observation, ministers of various Christian denominations attend regularly at the prison and minister to their members. They spend an hour or more in the chapel and hold service including baptisms, he said.

Mr. Hall believes that the donor of the prison chapel where other inmates worship, would not object to Rastafarian inmates using it as their place of worship as well.

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