Failure to Provide Christian Science Class In Prison Upheld

In Jerry v. Williamson, (Feb. 8, 2006), a Pennsylvania federal district court rejected the claim by Bernard Jerry, a state prisoner, that his free exercise rights were infringed when he was transferred to a prison that did not offer Christian Science instructional sessions. The court found that Jerry was free to receive Christian Science literature and to contact a nearby Christian Science community to attempt to find an advisor who was willing to meet with him at the prison. Concerns of cost and allocation of resources were found to be legitimate penological interests supporting the prison’s reliance on volunteers to provide instruction for religions that have few adherents in the prison system.