Forceably Cutting Mans Hair...

[BA51NGH]

I know what this guy did is wrong and may be this is his punishment but still i dont feel this is correct... we look at the US as a nation which is not discriminat against sikhs and minorities but do the laws in each country still not take into consideration peoples faith???

Citing security concerns, a Duval County Jail spokeswoman said that a Sikh inmate who endured the forceful cutting of his kesh, religiously mandated unshorn hair, will have another haircut when his hair gets long enough.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is committed to respecting and honoring the religious preferences of all persons… However, we cannot do so if the religious practices compromise the security and safety of the correctional facilities,” said Lauri-Ellen Smith, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, in an official statement by email. “As such, it is required that all sentenced inmates have short hair and not wear head coverings, in order to prevent hiding contraband and/or weapons.”

This jail policy is in direct conflict with Sikh religious practice, which requires men and women to keep uncut hair, and for men to cover it with a dastaar, a Sikh turban.

It became a problem for Jagmohan Singh Ahuja, 36, of Jacksonville, when he was sentenced on June 24 to serve three consecutive sentences, of less than one year each, for misdemeanor offenses.

When he became aware that jail personnel might forcibly cut his hair, he requested his public defender to file a motion with the Duval County Circuit Court, said Jaspreet Singh, staff attorney of United Sikhs, a New York based advocacy group. The motion was denied by Judge Russell Healey.

Singh again protested the cutting of his hair on the day of the incident, around July 1, Singh said. The correctional officers sought higher authorities to make the decision, and ended up calling the circuit court clerk for guidance on the matter. The clerk told them that Florida law allows prisons officials to cut an inmate’s hair, by force if necessary.

“He was given three years to serve for a crime, not three years and religious persecution,” Jaspreet Singh said. It is “criminal” that they cut his hair.

According to court records, Jagmohan Singh was arrested in November 2006 and charged with domestic battery. He pled no contest and was given one-year probation at the Salvation Army and attend classes on preventing domestic abuse. His wife and two minor kids were awarded an injunction to prevent any contact from him for one year.

But during the next year he was convicted of twice violating probation and once violating the injunction. About a week into his sentences, jail officers forcibly cut his hair and beard. On July 15, Jagmohan Singh filed an appeal to the conviction and sentence, court records show.

“We are taking the position that it (the alleged crime) is not important,” Jaspreet Singh said. “The arrest or conviction is irrelevant to the right to practice one’s religion… No one should face this (cutting kesh).”

Jagmohan Singh’s attorney, Anjna Chauhan, said she filed the appeal, but that the hair-cutting problem was beyond the scope of her representation.

“I would have to appeal to the governor and initiate a separate proceeding,” she said. Chauhan instead told Jagmohan Singh to call the Sikh Coalition, another New York based advocacy group. But he never made the call, said Amardeep Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition.

None of the Singhs in this report are related. It is a common surname for Sikhs.

A friend or relative initially contacted the Coalition with little information on his whereabouts, Amardeep Singh said. He was difficult to find.

Around the same time, Jagmohan Singh's mother, who lives in England, contacted United Sikhs’ office in London about her son's case. The group found him, but it was too late to stop his first haircut.

“We have confirmed with our lawyers that this practice is in full compliance with federal constitutional and statutory law,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement. “We fully understand that this might be uncomfortable for inmates whose religious practices require longer hair length and/or head coverings; however, the safety of our corrections facilities must take precedence.”

Florida law is not favorable to Jagmohan Singh's position, but there are a couple of federal laws that prohibit undue burden on prisoners’ rights to worship as they please: The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Both require the government to accommodate a prisoner’s religious rights or show justification for the undue hardship.

Still, the security issue is very difficult to overcome, said Glenn Katon, director of Religious Freedom Project at the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida, which is considering taking Jagmohan Singh’s case.

“There are quite a few cases (like this one) across the country,” Katon said. “We have fought before and lost, but I am not convinced that this is un-winnable.”

The argument would be that the jail could preserve its security interests without cutting an inmate’s hair, Katon said. And, in the meantime, he would ask the court for an injunction to prevent the jail from cutting Jagmohan Singh’s hair until an outcome. But even that is “hard to do.”

United Sikhs is also approaching Florida’s legal system and legislative systems to prevent another haircut, and to amend current Florida law. A petition was started last week to persuade Florida’s elected officials to take action. Nearly 2,100 people have signed it so far.

After the jail cut his hair, an emotionally strained Jagmohan Singh called his mother in England, Jaspreet Singh said. He told her he had become severely depressed by the incident and that he did not recognize himself in the mirror.

Note: By Anju Kaur

Sikh News Network staff journalist

anjukaur@sikhnn.com

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[RKang17]

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[paman]

sign the petition to support the singh!!

http://unitedsikhs.org/petitions/petition.php?id=11

[Dukh Nivaran]

Done! Damn, so many peepz are from west midlands!!

[jasleenk]

I know what this guy did is wrong and may be this is his punishment but still i dont feel this is correct... we look at the US as a nation which is not discriminat against sikhs and minorities but do the laws in each country still not take into consideration peoples faith???

the laws of the US DO take faith into consideration. federal prison code says he can keep his kes.

HOWEVER, the jail in FLORIDA says his turban is a safety issue, so they cut his kes. note that the governor of Florida is the dumber younger brother of George Bush, so it's not too surprising that he doesn't care about non-christians' religious requirements.

this is the same state that was refusing to give drivers' licenses to Sikhs because they said you can't have any head covering in your license photo.

they're a bunch of red-neck idiots down there, apparently.

[Mehtab Singh]

they're a bunch of red-neck idiots down there, apparently.

How dare you take that dignity away from Oklahoma! :|

Hahahahaha!

[buddasingh]

Inmates can hide contraband in their underwear and clothing also. Undergarments in the form of kachera are only a religious requirement for Sikhs.

No argument for anyone else. So for safety purposes strip all other inmates naked. After all safety takes precedence they say don't they? Wait, what's that i hear...."balance safety with rights to dignity".

What! they wear pants and shirts too? and shoes? Now that's scary cut off all the clothing!

WHAT A MORONIC DECISION! Shame on Florida!

[paman]

**UPDATE**

<h1 style="font-weight: bold;">Florida Jail Refuses to Budge on Discriminatory Prison Policy</h1> Sikh Inmate’s Religious Rights Severely Violated

Join Us in Our Worldwide Signature Campaign.

Jacksonville, Florida, USA: The fight for Sikh prisoner Jagmohan Singh Ahuja's right to keep his kesh (unshorn hair) in prison continues after Duval County Jail officials refused to change discriminatory prison policies to accommodate a Sikh’s religious beliefs within the Jail. It is against Sikh religious practice to cut one’s hair, as kesh (unshorn hair) covered by a dastaar (Sikh turban) is one of five articles of faith which a Sikh must keep at all times. UNITED SIKHS, co-sponsoring organizations, and concerned lawyers have been actively advocating for Jagmohan's religious rights, contacting and writing Governor of Florida Charlie Crist, Mayor John Peyton of Jacksonville/Duval County, Florida State Representatives, the Duval County Sheriff's Department (in charge of the jail), and various federal, state, and local governmental officials.

Even though the Federal Bureau of Prisons and other states accommodate kesh (unshorn hair) covered by a dastaar (Sikh turban), Duval County Jail and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office have taken strong positions against accommodation. Commenting on the possibility of accommodation, Lauri-Ellen Smith, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office stated, "we cannot do so if the religious practices compromise the security and safety of the correctional facilities…As such, it is required that all sentenced inmates have short hair and not wear head coverings, in order to prevent hiding contraband and/or weapons."

UNITED SIKHS is committed to using all avenues to change Florida's discriminatory prison policy for members of all faiths who keep religiously mandated lengthy hair or beards, whether Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Rastafarian, or Native American.

We urge all who value civil liberties to unite in the bid to overturn this discriminatory policy and stop the violation of Jagmohan's religious beliefs.

Click here to sign the petition. Assistant Chief Redman of Duval County Jail declared the Jail's position stating, "We're well within our rights to cut his hair, and we will continue to do so." Officials did not comment as to why it was possible to accommodate kesh and dastaar in Federal prisons and several other state jails but not in Florida. Commenting on the jail's position UNITED SIKHS Staff Attorney Jaspreet Singh stated, "we are very concerned that Jagmohan's hair will be cut again in the near future. It is deeply disturbing that the jail would refuse to make any accommodation where examples exist in other ostensibly more secure prisons. The poignant irony of Jagmohan's escape from religious persecution in Afghanistan to now facing it in America should strike a deep chord in any citizen concerned with protecting religious freedom in America." Arvind Singh, a Florida attorney and member of UNITED SIKHS' legal team added, "We [sikh Americans] are very concerned with the state of our union when a person's inalienable rights are not protected as our founding fathers directed."

UNITED SIKHS is working aggressively on a possible in court solution as well, but the current law on the issue is not favorable to Jagmohan's position and it will be a difficult legal battle. Our legal team is working with various partner organizations and attorneys to research and overcome these legal hurdles, and have been in regular discussion with the Glenn Katon of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida who has been actively researching and assessing the problematic legal issues in the case. Katon describes the case as one that presents serious difficulties, but states that he is "not convinced that this is un-winnable." Katon further expressed that, "the ACLU is very concerned about this important issue and would like to be on the forefront of changing Florida's discriminatory policy."

Despite the excellent initial response to the petition with 2200+ signatories online and 300+ on the ground in Florida, we need more concerned individuals to stand up for Jagmohan's rights and the rights of all prisoners suffering religious discrimination in prison.

UNITED SIKHS is committed to using all avenues to change Florida's discriminatory prison policy for members of all faiths who keep religiously mandated lengthy hair or beards, whether Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Rastafarian, or Native American. We urge all who value civil liberties to unite in the bid to overturn this discriminatory policy and stop the violation of Jagmohan's religious beliefs. Jagmohan needs your help to continue to increase pressure on the Governor of Florida and Mayor of Jacksonville to change these discriminatory policies.

Print out copies of the petition and take them to your place of worship, workplace, or community center and collect signatures for Jagmohan. Once you've collected the signatures, you can submit a statement verifying your collection of signatures by clicking here or by visiting http://www.unitedsikhs.org.

You may also sign the petition online and send it to your friends by clicking here.

You may read a previous press release on a discrimination case assisted by UNITED SIKHS at: http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/P...08-2008-00.html

[jasleen k]

I know what this guy did is wrong and may be this is his punishment but still i dont feel this is correct... we look at the US as a nation which is not discriminat against sikhs and minorities but do the laws in each country still not take into consideration peoples faith???

i finally found out what he did wrong.

he beat his wife. more than once.

still, cutting his kes is never appropriate punishment. the jail authorities just don't understand the significance or they could never do it.

but just for everyone wondering what this poor guy is doing in jail... now you know.

[buddasingh]

With respect to comments of what he did. This is not about fighting for him. This is about fighting for you and me and human dignity.