Inmate, state settle religious access issue

• By JAMES MINTON
• Advocate Baker - Zachary bureau
• Published: Jul 2, 2009 - Page: 4B

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The state and the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana filed an agreement in federal court Wednesday that will allow a death-row inmate at Angola to practice his Catholic faith.

The ACLU, on behalf of Donald Lee Leger Jr., and the state Attorney General’s Office also filed a joint motion asking the federal District Court in Baton Rouge to dismiss Leger’s lawlawsuit against the state.

Leger, sentenced to die in the 2001 shooting death of Troy Salone, 35, at his home near Franklin, claimed in his lawsuit that prison officials unfairly limited Sunday television services on death row to Baptist or Pentecostal services.

Leger, who also wounded Salone’s wife, complained he was unable to participate in Catholic Mass.

Since the ACLU filed suit on his behalf, officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary gave Leger the ability to regularly view Catholic Mass, the civil rights organization said in a news release.

ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie R. Esman said in the release, “We are glad that since we filed suit, Angola now regularly includes Catholic and Muslim services.”

Neither side admitted fault in the settlement.

Louisiana State Penitentiary spokeswoman Cathy Fontenot said the Angola prison has always had a strong Catholic presence, including St. Augustine Chapel for inmates and a local priest and deacon assigned to the inmate population.

In addition, the prison has a number of Catholic Church-sponsored programs for prisoners, including retreats with Catholic schools, Fontenot said.

Fontenot said closed-circuit religious programs are shown on television throughout the prison.

“We didn’t realize, to tell you the truth, that we had predominately ‘Bapti-Costal’ (programming), but that was because of the people coming into the prison to preach or the inmates preachers in Main Prison who were close to the television station, which again is run by inmates,” Fontenot said.

“The ACLU has long stood for the religious rights of everyone. Donald Leger simply wanted to practice his Catholic faith.

“Those on death row, like anyone else, should have the opportunity to practice their religion by participating in religious ceremonies of their choice.