The John J. Moran Medium Security Facility at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. (Rhode Island Department of Corrections website)
The ACLU of Rhode Island Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s Department of Corrections (DOC) over allegations it refused to accommodate the religious practices of an Indigenous inmate.
The lawsuit , filed in U.S. District Court in Providence in conjunction with the Roger Williams University (RWU) Law Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic, claims the DOC repeatedly denied requests from inmate Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh, 59, to wear a White Mountain Apache Tribe headband.
DOC spokesperson J.R. Ventura said the department on Wednesday “just became aware of the lawsuit” and is looking into the matter.
“Any concerns will be addressed once we have an opportunity to read it and discuss its claims,” Ventura said via email.
The suit claims Pawochawog-Mequinosh’s requests for a headband were on the grounds that his religion is designated as “Pagan/Wiccan” in DOC’s data management system and that an Apache headband is not an approved religious item for people with that designation.