Florida Prison Authorities Allow Jewish Prisoner To Be Circumcised

Stanford Law School's Religious Liberty Clinic, in a release distributed by e-mail, reports that the Florida Department of Corrections, under threat of a RLUIPA lawsuit, has agreed that Jewish prisoner Pablo Diaz can be circumcised while in prison. The case, as described by the release, involves an unusual factual situation:

[Diaz] was born in Cuba to Jewish parents who decided not to have him circumcised as an infant for fear of political persecution. After returning to the faith as an adult through participation in prison ministry, Diaz petitioned tirelessly for the right to take part in the sacred ritual. Diaz viewed circumcision as indispensable to his standing before God. His request was supported by a mohel who offered to perform the procedure for free.

(See prior related posting.)