CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A prisoner in New Hampshire is suing the state after he was placed in secure housing and initially denied parole for failing to shave his thick, bushy beard in violation of prison rules.
Corrections officials and lawyers for the state said Frank Staples, 35, was placed in the state prison’s Special Housing Unit — where death row is located and inmates are locked down 23 hours a day — for his safety and because of security concerns.
They maintain his beard could be used to hide drugs or weapons and makes him a target of harassment and beatings by other prisoners who are required to shave.
Staples sued, saying he keeps the beard because of his Taoist beliefs and it is protected by his religious freedoms.
He was convicted of jumping bail on drug charges in 2011.
Prison policy allows beards up to a quarter inch long and makes no exceptions for religious beliefs. Inmates in the SHU may grow beards but must shave them at the time of their transfer to a lower security unit.
- Posted August 26, 2015
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Prisoner claims religious right to have beard
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