The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) sent an advocacy letter on behalf of our client Christine DiCarlo, a federal pretrial detainee and lifelong resident of Lackawanna County, challenging the prison's blanket policy of denying religious services to any detainee who has a "separation" in place with another incarcerated person.
Under this policy, Ms. DiCarlo was barred from attending the Tuesday morning Christian services central to her faith for approximately 4 months — even though the individuals she is separated from could not have attended that service anyway. This kind restriction on religious practice violates both the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the First Amendment, and we are calling on LCP to change it. Read the full letter below.