On February 7th, Dominique Ray, 42, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Atmore, Alabama. Ray was a Muslim inmate who had filed a legal challenge because he was denied the right to an imam’s presence during his execution. The inmate had argued Alabama’s execution procedure favors Christian inmates because a Christian chaplain is employed by the prison and usually remains in the chamber during an execution. Though Ray’s imam, Yusef Maisonet, was able to visit with Ray during the last two days of his life, he wasn’t able to be in the room with Ray and watched the execution from an adjoining room.
In this op-ed written by the editorial board of the Christian Post, the authors declare that “religious freedom is for Muslims too” and conclude that “to secure religious freedom for all, we need consistency from the court. The religious freedom of Christians shouldn’t depend on having a conservative majority; the religious freedom of Muslims shouldn’t depend on having a liberal majority. In defense of the religious liberty embodied in the First Amendment, courts and other government officials must make the effort to accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of all.”
