Sunday, February 20, 2005
Jail contractor pushes religion, lawsuit charges
The hiring of a contractor that allegedly mixes religion with the vocational training it provides to inmates at a northern Pennsylvania jail violates the state and federal constitutions, two national civil-liberties groups charged Thursday in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
The groups - Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American Civil Liberties Union - are seeking a court order barring The Firm Foundation of Bradford County from including religious activities in the program it has operated for the Bradford County Correctional Facility since 2002.
The civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton on behalf of a half-dozen local citizens, alleges that the company's employees proselytize inmates in the work-release program and pressure them to pray.
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The hiring of a contractor that allegedly mixes religion with the vocational training it provides to inmates at a northern Pennsylvania jail violates the state and federal constitutions, two national civil-liberties groups charged Thursday in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
The groups - Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the American Civil Liberties Union - are seeking a court order barring The Firm Foundation of Bradford County from including religious activities in the program it has operated for the Bradford County Correctional Facility since 2002.
The civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton on behalf of a half-dozen local citizens, alleges that the company's employees proselytize inmates in the work-release program and pressure them to pray.
Read More...
