An orthodox Jewish man, who is serving a life sentence in a Florida prison and is challenging the absence of kosher meals for prison inmates, got some good news – a federal appeals court ruled his challenge could move forward, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Bruce Rich, an orthodox Jew serving a life sentence at Union Correctional Institution for the murder of his parents, for insurance money, sued the Florida Department of Corrections and other defendants in 2010. He argued that the meal choices offered by the prison system, which didn’t include a kosher plan, violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
The federal trial court issued a summary judgment against Rich after state prison officials submitted affidavits arguing it was too costly to offer kosher meals, and that it was a security risk because it could lead to retaliation against inmates getting kosher meals if other inmates believed the kosher food was of higher quality, the Orlando Sentinel also reported. But, a U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upended this ruling and Rich could proceed with his challenge.
Read more on the kosher foods in prison case here.
