Inmates demand kosher food

Kten: OKLAHOMA CITY: A federal judge has ruled that three Oklahoma prisoners are entitled to receive kosher meals from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.A temporary order issued last January established that the three men have a First Amendment right to kosher food because of their religious beliefs as Orthodox Jews. U-S District Judge Lee West made that order permanent last week. Convicted sex offenders Dennis Earl Fulbright, Jon Andrew Cottriel and Jerry Harmon sued the state in 2003 because they were being forced to pay for their own kosher meals. ----------------------------------------------------------- FAC: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections must continue providing kosher meals to three convicted sex offenders, a federal judge has ruled. A temporary order issued in January 2005 established that the three men have a First Amendment right to kosher food because of their religious beliefs as Orthodox Jews. U.S. District Judge Lee R. West made that order permanent last week. “It’s good news for my clients,” said attorney Rand C. Eddy. “This is part of their rehabilitation and the way they want to live their lives.” The inmates — convicted sex offenders Dennis Earl Fulbright, Jon Andrew Cottriel and Jerry Harmon — sued the state in 2003 because they were being forced to pay for their own kosher meals. In most cases, they said that meant eating just fruits and vegetables. Corrections officials initially balked, citing the cost of providing special meals, but the department’s policy has changed since last year’s ruling with the hiring of a new director. They sought to have the lawsuits dismissed because of the new policy, but West opted to let them proceed so the policy could not be changed in the future, according to court papers.