ACLU Brings Habeas On Behalf of Catholic Sentenced To Pentecostal Drug Rehab Program

The ACLU of Michigan announced yesterday that it has filed a habeas corpus petition (full text of petition and of Memorandum in Support) in federal court in Detroit on behalf of a Catholic man who was sentenced to jail for not completing a Pentecostal drug rehabilitation program. The petitioner alleges that his sentence violated the First Amendment's free exercise and establishment clause provisions. Joseph Hanas pled guilty to a charge of marijuana possession. He was allowed a deferred sentence and possible dismissal of the charges if he successfully completed the Inner City Christian Outreach Residential Program. However, one of the goals of the program was to convert Hanas from Catholicism to the Pentecostal faith. He was forced to read the bible for seven hours a day, was tested on Pentecostal principles, and was told by the program staff that Catholicism was a form of witchcraft. His rosary and Holy Communion prayer book were confiscated. This led him to leave the program. The judge acknowledged that Christian Outreach was a religious program, but determined that nevertheless Hanas had not satisfactorily completed it. He sentenced Hanas to jail and then to boot camp. Only after that, while on probation, did Hanas receive drug treatment in a non-religious program.