Newark, USA — A convicted murderer who practices the Wiccan religion has won the right to receive religious books and items while behind bars.
The state Department of Corrections on Dec. 8 settled a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on behalf of Patrick Pantusco, who was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other offenses in Bergen County in 1998, and sent to East Jersey State Prison at Avenel.
He began practicing Wicca in 2002, while serving a 30- to 50-year prison term. Wiccans say their religion is based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.
Pantusco, 30, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Newark in 2003 after prison officials denied his request for religious books and items such as beads and scented oils, a small bell and flute, ritual powder and a necklace, said Edward Barocas, the ACLU’s legal director.
“They were comparable to rosary beads or Muslim prayer oils,” he said. “Everything he asked for had a similar counterpart with the Christian and Muslim religions that was allowed into the prison.”
Among the books Pantusco sought was The Book of Shadows by Lady Sheba, who registered Wicca as a religious organization in 1971. It includes secret initiation rites, laws of the religion, consecration rituals, invocations and chants and dances for calling on the gods. He also wanted to receive The Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft.
The lawsuit claimed the state violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects the religious rights of inmates.
“All Mr. Pantusco wanted was to have the same rights as the Muslim and Christian inmates,” said Steven Latimer, who served as his attorney. “He asked for no special privileges.”
Deidre Fedkenheuer, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, declined comment on the settlement.
Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, said the state would pay $2,000 as part of the settlement to cover Pantusco’s lawyer’s fees.