Does a death row inmate have a constitutional right to the presence of a spiritual leader of their choice in the death chamber? In today's episode, we hear from criminal defense attorney Peter Wosnik about the religious rights of death row inmates. In his Canopy Forum article "Ramirez v. Collier: Will the Supreme Court Expand the Right to the Presence of a Spiritual Advisor for Prisoners During Execution?", he explains that the Supreme Court has been largely "unreceptive" to death penalty appeals in recent years. But the case of John Ramirez has proved an exception. In September 2021, Ramirez, a death row inmate convicted of manslaughter and robbery, was granted a rare, eleventh-hour stay in execution on the basis of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). His grievance? A Texas law that prohibited clergy from laying their hands on inmates inside the execution chamber. The Ramirez case highlights an important question: Do prisoners, or even death row inmates who have been convicted of terrible crimes, have a right to freely exercise their religion? If so, what does religious freedom mean for people who are incarcerated or sentenced to die at the hands of the state? Listen now. https://canopyforum.org/2022/01/21/ramirez-v-collier-will-the-supreme-court-expand-the-right-to-the-presence-of-a-spiritual-advisor-for-prisoners-during-execution/ (Read) the original article on Canopy Forum. https://cslr.law.emory.edu/scholarship/cslrbooks2016-2021.pdf (Browse) our book brochure.