You may recall the case seven years ago of the horrific rape, murder, and arson case out of Connecticut involving Steven Hayes. He and a friend raped and murdered a mother and two daughters in a savage home invasion. He is now on death row but Hayes is not happy with his meals. He is an Orthodox Jew and insisted that his kosher meals were not being prepared with sufficient attention to religious rules and thereby forcing him to “choose between following God and starving or choosing sin to survive.” A court has rejected the motion for preliminary injunctive relief.
Hayes (left) and Joshua Komisarjevsky (right) were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, at the family’s home in Cheshire. They tied up the victims and sexually assaulted two of them. They then set the house on fire. Hawke-Petit’s husband, Dr. William Petit, was severely beaten, but survived. Here is a picture of the family before they met Hayes:
It is not clear when Hayes became Orthodox because he says that he has been eating kosher since May 2013. He has challenged the preparation practices for kosher meals in the kitchen of his high-security prison under Jewish dietary laws. However,
U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Thompson ruled that the meals do meet such standards. He noted that the state Department of Corrections has two rabbis who periodically monitor the preparation of kosher foods in the prison system. The judge said both rabbis certified that the food and the food preparation process comply with dietary laws. Hayes was raising a highly technical objection: the “lack of a reliable orthodox certificate or an onsite Jewish overseer.” However, Thompson ruled that there was no evidence suggesting that the absence of the certificate leads to a finding that the meals are not kosher.”
If it is any solace to Hayes, I expect that the Almighty is likely to be more peeved about his brutal assault, arson, rapes and murders as examples of “choosing sin” than his eating Kosher food without a posted certificate.
Notably, the lawsuit will continue. This was just a rejection of the motion for a preliminary injunction. Hayes has previously filed lawsuits over his mental health care, harassment from prison staff and the temperature in his cell.
Source: NH Register
http://s2.legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Zemir-Begic-Bosnian-murdered-by-hammer-st.-louis-bevo-mill-e1417454505578-620×437.png
A 32 year old Bosnian man is dead after a fatal attack in St. Louis early Sunday morning.
Zemir Begic, who’d only been married for six months was beaten to death with hammers in front of his wife and friend.
According to CNN:
Two juveniles are in custody Sunday, suspected in the death of a man beaten with hammers on a St. Louis street.
The victim, 32-year-old Zemir Begic, suffered injuries to his head, abdomen, face and mouth, according to police.
He was unconscious by the time officers arrived. Begic was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“Investigation revealed the victim was traveling in his vehicle when several juveniles approached his vehicle on foot and began damaging it.
“The victim exited his vehicle and the juveniles began yelling at the victim and striking him with hammers. After the assault, the juveniles fled the scene on foot,” read an incident report.
Two suspects were later located and taken into custody, police said. They are 15 and 16.
A motive for the attack was not immediately clear. An investigation is ongoing.
Some reports indicate race has already been ruled out as a motive for the violent attacks, while others say motive is as of yet unclear. Police are still looking for two other suspects, a 16 year old black male and a 15 year old hispanic male, according to Fox News St. Louis.
Originally reported on Legal Insurrection.
And speaking of people who shouldn’t be in society, the Pillow Case Rapist was released into SoCal by a San Francisco judge. He has raped women by the handfuls each and every time he’s been released by Liberal judges who think he’s been rehabilitated. EVERY TIME! I think his verified count is 40 women. God knows how many he’s actually harmed.
If anyone should be deemed a menace to society, it’s him. But noooooooo, prisoners are supposed to be rehabilitated.
Nick – you can’t even use the same utensils, or prep area for Kosher and non-Kosher food. If someone uses the Kosher knife for non-Kosher food, then you’ve got to get a rabbi in and re-certify it (if I remember correctly.) Same thing with a cutting board. And Halaal has similar, but slightly different, requirements. I mean, you could end up building separate kitchens in jails, which are overcrowded and underfunded as it is.
This is annoying. The only special diet people should get in prison is for allergies or Celiac disease. Otherwise, people can jump around from diet to diet and require a new special chef each month. If you’re a vegetarian, then stick to the side dishes. If you don’t want to eat meet on Fridays, same thing. Same with pork. Why should there be Kosher, Halaal, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, Adkins, fish on Lent Fridays, etc separate menus? I agree with the above poster that the religious should be more concerned about facing God after their crimes than for eating what’s in front of them.
If you want a specialized diet then don’t rape women and then burn them to death, landing you in prison. Prison food is supposed to suck. It’s prison, not a gourmand’s club.
Connecticut deserves to have to put up with this POS. I hope he sues them every day for the rest of his life, and the papers up there do a story on him daily. I even hope he escapes and terrorizes the whole darn state. It would serve them right for being too stupid to execute him.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
You can’t mix meat and dairy in kosher food.
I bet his last meal will not be a kosher request. He looks like a big cheeseburger guy!
This is what happens when you have way too much time on your hands.
They never complain about the food after their sentence is carried out. So what’s the hold up? The progressive wing of the Democratic party caused this
Pogo, There you go w/ that personal responsibility stuff! Don’t you know that is no longer an acceptable philosophy!!
I took care of a prisoner who was diabetic. He loudly complained that his chronic diabetes was worse since being in prison for the past year. He said this was because he was not allowed access to the needles 3 times a day as recommended, just twice daily, sometimes only once (a staffing and safety issue).
I commented that having a chronic disease was a good reason not to embezzle.
He said, “Be fruitful, and multiply.”
But not in those words.
Please note: Convicted killer, Steven Hayes, IS NOT Jewish. He “self-converted” to receive better food in May 2013.
Wouldn’t the provision of kosher (or halal, for that matter) food by a government-run prison somehow violate the separation of church and state?
” I expect that the Almighty is likely to be more peeved about his brutal assault, arson, rapes and murders as examples of “choosing sin” than his eating Kosher food without a posted certificate.”
Seconded.
This goes in with sterilizing the needle and swabbing the spot on the arm with alcohol before offing the animal. There is a point when the old Russian way of doing things makes more sense. Walk the animal down a hall to a room, when he enters the room shoot him in the back of the head. Hose down the room. Or is that not kosher?
Pass the hankie.
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
Most people have no idea the number of frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates. We vacation w/ a woman who was the pro se clerk for a Federal Judge in Madison for 20 years. About half of her caseload was cases filed by inmates.
When this case occurred I was back in my home state of Ct. for the funeral of an aunt. It shook the state. There is a good documentary on HBO Go about this. The husband/father pushed hard for the death penalty in a state that is quite liberal and opposed to it.
“Notorious Killer Denied Injunction Over Kosher Food On Death Row”
My question is, why is kosher food on death row? People kill people, not food.
In a related topic, I wrote in 2009 about the public library regarding “Residents to Have Say on Petit Book,” by Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register, 20 October 20 2009:
“But… Monkey in Cheshire, CT; Selection Policy Needs Amendment; Library Director Ramona Harten Says Her Own Authority Trumps All”
http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2009/10/but-monkey-in-cheshire-ct-selection.html
Is there any statutory basis for his claim? I can’t imagine this religious practice being fully regulated by the state to such a degree that its non-compliance could be actionable in the US and state courts.