The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is defending a recent inmate baptism, after the Freedom From Religion Foundation raised concerns that it may have violated the First Amendment.
The concerns stem from a social media post by the sheriff's office highlighting the event at the Monroe County Correctional Center. According to the post, 49 inmates were baptized.
The post called the event “powerful” and said it was “marked by healing, forgiveness, accountability, and redemption.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the separation of church and state. Sammi Lawrence, a staff attorney with the nonprofit, said the organization was contacted by Monroe County community members concerned by the sheriff's role in organizing and promoting the service.
“Their concern was that it seemed to them, based on what the sheriff's office had posted online, it looks like the sheriff's office or correctional facility had kind of been in charge of organizing this religious event and baptisms,” Lawrence said. “They were concerned that inmates were potentially being coerced or heavily encouraged to participate in this event.”
The social media post stated that participation was optional and that all individuals featured in photographs had signed media release forms.
Lawrence said while inmates have a constitutional right to practice their religion while incarcerated, it becomes an issue when government agencies appear to promote a specific religion.
"People in a correctional facility are literally a captive audience," Lawrence said. "An inmate might think to themselves, ‘Well, I don't really believe in that, or I don't have a strong religious opinion, but I'd like to be seen favorably by the people working in the correctional facility.’”
In response to the concerns, the Sheriff's Office released a statement saying the service was requested by inmates and participation was entirely voluntary.
“No inmate was required, encouraged, or pressured to take part, and participation had no effect on housing assignments, privileges, programs, or treatment within the facility,” the release said.
Lawrence said the office's celebration of the event on social media caused the complaints.
“If inmates genuinely organized this, and this was genuinely like an inmate request and idea, and the jail wasn't going out of its way to do something that it wouldn't do for any other religious group, then that's good,” Lawrence said, “but posting on social media and celebrating it really makes it seem like the jail and sheriff's office were maybe more involved than they're now claiming that they were.”
