npr:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the execution of a Buddhist inmate on death row because prison officials wouldn’t let his spiritual adviser be present in the execution chamber, even though they provide chaplains for inmates of some other faiths.
This case is in contrast to a similar case last month, in which the high court permitted the execution of a Muslim inmate who couldn’t have his imam with him at the moment of death. The court provided no explanation for the different result.
Legal scholars said the new decision sends a message that religious discrimination by government officials is never acceptable — and it might be a way for the court to deal with the criticism it faced after it let the Muslim inmate die.
“As this Court has repeatedly held, governmental discrimination against religion — in particular, discrimination against religious persons, religious organizations, and religious speech — violates the Constitution,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion. “The government may not discriminate against religion generally or against particular religious denominations.”
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