This is in regard to the Domineque Ray case in Alabama [February 2019], in which the State of Alabama violates Ray's rights under the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Alabama's execution protocol prohibits Ray from having his Muslim imam from being present in the death chamber as the condemned is executed. They allow a Christian minister or nobody.

This case raises at least two interesting questions:

1. A fair number of states' execution protocols (or in some cases, state laws) have similar provisions, i.e., only a Christian minister can be present in the death chamber. No matter how the Supreme Court rules in the Ray case, will this be grounds for other inmates raising this issue on appeal?

2. Where can a state draw the line on persons present in the death chamber with regard to the Establishment Clause?

Clearly, Christian ministers, pastors, bishops, etc., are admissible to the death chamber. So are rabbis and imams (IMO for imams).

But how about Rastafarians? That's an organized religion. Rastafarians blow weed via doobies or water-pipes as a sort of sacrament. Indeed, that religion requires (among other things) Rastafarians to smoke marijuana at every opportunity they can get. Of course, toking grass in the death chamber can be prohibited because of the disruption factor. But should an inmate get to chew Alice B. Toklas brownies, lest he be denied his Rastafarian sacrament, before he departs? Obviously, those would have to be smuggled into the prison. But that happens all the time with other illicit substances.

Rastafarians do have some sort of spiritual advisors, whom I suspect would have to be allowed. But would such advisors have to cut their dreadlocks? Dreadlocks are another requirement of Rastafarian religious belief. And would such an advisor have to leave his distinctive garb at the door? Dreadlocks and weird clothes can be called disruptive. But I don't see any difference between those and a priest's ecclesiastical collar and stole, or an orthodox rabbi's yarmulke, black fedora, and prayer shawl, which routinely aren't called disruptive.

What do other folks think?