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SC inmate tells Department of Corrections in $1M lawsuit that his religion requires him to smoke weed

Posted at 8:26 PM, Dec 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-12 21:26:07-05

By Tanita Gaither

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A South Carolina inmate serving a life sentence for murder is now suing the state's Department of Corrections because they will not permit him to smoke marijuana inside of the facility.

James R. Rose, who is currently an inmate at McCormick Correctional Institution in McCormick, filed suit on Monday, saying SC DOC is acting in “violation of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” by denying his ability to smoke, citing his religious beliefs.

The aforementioned act fights against religious discrimination against institutionalized people and their ability to worship how they choose within the prison.

Rose, 41, says his Rastafarian religious practice includes smoking marijuana and says he wants $1 million in punitive and actual damages.

“...Defendant used excessive force to maliciously and sadistically cause harm,” Rose wrote on the court documents.

The document also reads that Rose would like to grow dreadlocks as a part of his religious beliefs.

Rose has been in prison since January 2012 following a murder conviction in Charleston County.

You can read the lawsuit here.

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