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Transgender inmate sues prison over religious rights

A transgender inmate is suing a North Carolina prison, saying it's blocking her from practicing witchcraft.
Credit: Rafe Swan, Getty Images/Cultura RF
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A transgender inmate is suing a North Carolina prison, saying it's blocking her from practicing witchcraft.

The Charlotte Observer reports 40-year-old Jennifer Ann Jasmaine says in the lawsuit that chaplains at the all-male Lanesboro Correctional Institution have violated her constitutional rights by restricting when, where and how she can practice Wicca, the religion based on ancient pagan beliefs.

Jasmaine also says Lanesboro also refused to provide her with the foods Wiccans are supposed to eat.

Lanesboro is a maximum-security prison about 45 miles (70 km) southeast of Charlotte.

The lawsuit, filed this month, seeks a jury trial and $1 in damages from each of the chaplains.

A spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety declined comment to the newspaper and didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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