A Shasta County atheist sued top state corrections officials Monday, claiming a violation of his constitutional rights when he was returned to prison after objecting to participation in a program with religious overtones as a condition of parole.
Barry A. Hazle Jr., 40, was released from prison in February 2007, after doing a year for drug possession. He was required to complete a 90-day drug treatment program, and was assigned to one in Shasta County.
The Redding computer technician says he objected several times to being compelled to participate in a program based on the 12-step recovery method originally developed by Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, according to the lawsuit filed in Sacramento federal court. He aksed to be reassigned to a secular recovery program.
The 12-step program required "acknowledgment of the existence of a supernatural God,....deference to a monotheistic 'higher power,' and participation in prayer," the suit alleges.
He was subsequently arrested for violating parole and sent back to prison for four months, the suit alleges.
"The First Amendment....guarantees that the state cannot require anyone to participate in these types of religious activities, nor penalize those that resist," said Hazle's lawyer, John Heller of Chapman, Popik & White in San Francisco."Courts across the nation have recognized that the 12-step method is religious in nature," Heller added.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages for Hazle and an injunction prohibiting such use of state funds in the future.
A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Call The Bee's Denny Walsh, (916) 321-1189.
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