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No Immunity for Sweat Lodge Denial
Loaded on Feb. 15, 1995
published in Prison Legal News
February, 1995, page 20
Ralph Thomas is a Nebraska state prisoner. He filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming that prison officials had violated his right to religious freedom by denying him daily access to the prisons sweat lodge for prayer. He claimed this denial also violated his right to equal protection because …
Filed under:
Appeals,
Qualified Immunity,
Religious Freedom,
Religious Practices.
Location:
Nebraska.
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More from this issue:
- Contract With America = Contract on Prisoners, by Paul Wright
- From The Editor, by Paul Wright
- FL DOC Industries Fined
- Immigration Detainees Rebel
- PA Limits Suits Against Defense Attorneys, by Dale Gardner
- Visitor Search Held Illegal
- No Immunity for Visitor Strip Search
- Brutality Protested
- AZ Passes Repressive Prison Laws
- Fear and Loathing in California, by Willie Wisely
- News in Brief
- Revolutionary Literature at Half-Price
- Rikers Island Detainees in Struggle
- OR Voters Pass New Prison Laws
- Texas DOC to Ban Tobacco Use
- Unconstitutional Jail Conditions Don't Need to be Relitigated
- CT Phone Suit Filed
- Former TX Parole Board Chairman Sentenced
- No Interlocutory Appeal From Judgement
- S.Ct. Revokes Review
- Speeding Cop Loses Job
- Settlements and Jury Awards
- Prisoner Raped by Custodians
- Exposure to Cold Illegal, Rectal Search Upheld
- 9th Cir Reverses Dismissal of Publisher Only Rule
- Guard Sues Over Discrimination Order
- Prisoners Entitled to Free Legal Mail Postage
- Damage Awards Can be Used for Restitution
- NC Consent Decree Modified
- WA DOC Sanctioned in Grievance Mail Case
- OK Prisoners Have Disciplinary Hearing Remedy
- MS Jail Officials Held in Contempt
- CDC Must Establish Hobby Program
- Contempt Finding Reversed
- Tight Handcuffs State Claim
- No Immunity for Sweat Lodge Denial
More from these topics:
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- ICE Jails Denied Muslim Detainees’ Right to Celebrate Ramadan, April 1, 2026. Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Religious Property, Immigration Detention, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Naphcare, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, April 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- First Circuit Revives Federal Prisoner’s Claim Against Rhode Island Lockup, April 1, 2026. Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, April 1, 2026. Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, March 1, 2026. Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Louisiana Prisoner Sustains Claim Against Prison Doctor for Allowing Assignment to “Field Duty” Despite Known Ankle Injury, March 1, 2026. Inability to Work, Skeletal Injury, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, March 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.

