Indianapolis, IN – ACLU: State Violates Kosher Food Order

Indianapolis, IN – The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is asking a judge to hold the state Department of Correction in contempt for failing to provide four inmates with kosher food.

ACLU attorney Ken Falk told the Evansville Courier & Press Monday that the agency isn’t complying with a 2010 federal court order requiring it to offer kosher meals to inmates whose religious beliefs require it.

Four prisoners in state prisons in Michigan City, Pendleton and Putnamville are asking a judge to order the state to comply with the order.

An Orthodox Jew inmate sued in 2009 after the agency began substituting vegan meals for kosher meals, citing higher costs.

An IDOC spokesman said the agency has a process for reviewing kosher diet requests that it believes complies with the court order.