Satanist stalker says prison prevented worship

LAS CRUCES, N.M., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A New Mexico prisoner's lawsuit against the state's Corrections Department alleges he was barred from worshipping Satan while behind bars.

The handwritten lawsuit filed by Bernard Pritchard, 64, in Santa Fe's 1st Judicial District Court names the department as well as a chaplain and a deputy warden Pritchard accuses of violating his rights to religious freedom by preventing him from practicing Satanism at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility near Las Cruces.

Pritchard, who is serving time for an aggravated stalking charge and is due to be released in January, is seeking a court order to allow him to practice "satanic worship" and $140,000 compensation for "emotional injuries."

The prisoner did not specify how he was prevented from worshipping.

Alex Tomlin of the Department of Corrections said she could not comment on the pending litigation, but she said the agency "respect[s] all religions."

Satanism is among the religions listed on the Department of Corrections' website, which said allowing prisoners and detainees to practice their religious traditions would be "subject to security and safety considerations."

"We just try to make sure everyone is treated fairly," Tomlin said.