Scott Sheppard converted to Islam roughly six months ago, and it changed his life. He finally felt at peace, a sense of belonging, like he fit in somewhere. Nearing the end of a 15-year sentence at York Correctional Institution for first-degree assault, his newfound faith also aided in his rehabilitation.
鈥淢y place of worship allows me to be around those who share my faith. We talk about things that others can鈥檛 relate to,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淥ur worship services provide us with healing, safety and security.鈥�
But in mid-November, Sheppard said he was notified that the Niantic prison was cutting the work hours of the imam who led Taleem services on Wednesdays. Prior to that, Jum鈥檃h services on Fridays also stopped. Muslims at the only women鈥檚 prison in 海角换妻 were left to themselves.
The lack of congregational services has lasted for weeks, and it has created significant distress for Sheppard, a transgender man, and other incarcerated people in the facility.
鈥淚 am so upset over this,鈥� Sheppard said.
鈥淚slam is my life,鈥� he added.
For Muslims, congregational prayer has more spiritual and social significance than prayer by oneself. However, the DOC without an authorized chaplain or a religious volunteer who practices the same religion, which has left people with serious questions about the constitutionality and legality of the prison鈥檚 decision to stop services.
鈥淧ractice of the religion does not merely mean that prison guards do not allow them to pray,鈥� said Maryam Bitar, a Hartford-based civil rights attorney. 鈥淭he restriction also means that if they do not provide a pure or proper place for the prayers, that by itself is a restriction and a violation of the Constitution.鈥�
The timing was meaningful to Sheppard; services halted during an escalating war between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. The conflict has resulted in , the overwhelming majority of whom were Palestinian, and sharp increases in Islamophobia. Nearly are Muslims.
The DOC鈥檚 director of external affairs, Ashley McCarthy, said on Wednesday that a staffing shortage was the reason for the interruption, not to cut hours or because of the war.
McCarthy said one of two imams, Larry Baha, recently left the agency, and the other, Sami Shamma, had been working overtime at York on Wednesdays on a temporary basis. She said the facility plans to resume services on Friday and that a full-time imam would start on Dec. 14.
But for nearly a month, York has not provided congregational prayer for Muslims. Staffing shortages aren鈥檛 as prevalent for other religious services, McCarthy said, and there鈥檚 been no indication of interruptions with other groups.
It is also unclear why the prison stopped allowing Shamma, a full-time chaplain at MacDougall-Walker Correctional in Suffield, to work overtime at York until it could find a permanent imam.
Reached by phone, Shamma declined to comment. Baha, the imam who recently resigned, did not return calls for comment. Multiple sources said, however, that the stoppage was due to York cutting hours.
In letter exchanges with the CT Mirror, Sheppard said he was told by staff that because of York鈥檚 status as a women鈥檚 facility, it was not a priority to have an imam present.
鈥淣ow because I am speaking up, and emails are being sent, and I鈥檓 filing grievances, DOC puts on the act to cover their behinds,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淭hey act like they care, but I don鈥檛 believe that. If that was the case, why would you cut overtime hours from our only service left, preventing the Imam from coming?鈥�
The U.S. and 海角换妻 constitutions, as well as both and , prohibit the DOC from placing any burden on religious expression unless it can demonstrate that its actions are 鈥渢o further a compelling governmental interest and are the least restrictive ways of doing so.鈥�
Courts have ruled that a variety of practices constitute 鈥渞eligious exercise,鈥� including attending religious services, joining prayer groups and receiving reading materials.
As recently as 2016, 海角换妻 agreed to centered on the religious expressions of three prisoners. One claim involved Kevin Harris, who sought the DOC鈥檚 recognition of the Five-Percent Nation and alleged that his reading materials were seized because prison officials considered them contraband. He was effectively 鈥渂arred from practicing his religion in any way,鈥� according to his legal complaint.
McCarthy said the DOC understands its obligations under federal and state law and that the agency has prioritized hiring a full-time imam for the York facility.
鈥淚f anything, this is monumental for York, because for the first time ever, they have an imam assigned to their facility,鈥� said McCarthy, adding that the imam will also work at Corrigan Correctional. 鈥淭hey have a person that鈥檚 dedicated to them versus just relying on outside volunteers. So that is a way more permanent solution to making sure that things operate in a more seamless way.鈥�
But the DOC was likely required by law to provide an alternative means for incarcerated people to practice the religion while it searched for the new imam, according to Bitar.
鈥淚f you discriminated against me, if you temporarily prevented me from practicing my rights, it doesn鈥檛 matter that it was for a short or temporary time,鈥� said Bitar, adding that if there was no compelling reason for the interruption of services, an incarcerated person at York could still make a legal claim against the state.
Bitar, who is Muslim, noted that people devoted to the religion pray five times a day. Missing any prayers could lead to significant mental and emotional distress, in part because Muslims rely heavily on their communication with God.
鈥淵ou cannot make up for the prayers that you missed,鈥� Bitar said.
For incarcerated people, religious participation has on personal well-being. Sheppard believes his experience attests to that.
The 36-year-old has spent nearly 13 years incarcerated, with many of them in solitary confinement because he would 鈥済et in a lot of trouble.鈥� Once he began his gender transition in 2018, he said everything changed for the better.
He now participates full-time as a truck worker in the commissary warehouse, attends night classes to earn his associate鈥檚 degree and more recently started attending Muslim services faithfully, twice a week.
鈥淜nowing we have a safe space for us Muslims to gather together, we have solidarity,鈥� Sheppard said.
On Wednesday, he said the prison told a group of nearly a dozen Muslims that it now has a permanent imam because of his raising awareness about the recent series of events.
鈥淚t is sad that, had I not spoken up about this issue, the facility had no intentions of finding an Imam for us,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淚 am happy I helped not only myself but the other Muslims here at York.鈥�