A court order directing Nevada prison officials to allow a Muslim inmate greater access to scented oils for daily prayers was upheld Wednesday by the Ninth Circuit, which said the prison’s limits constituted a substantial burden on his religious exercise.
Lausteveion Johnson says he must purify and anoint himself with scented oil blessed by an imam before each of his five daily prayers. Nevada Department of Corrections regulations permit the use of scented oil in group services in the chapel, but bar inmates from keeping it in their cells. Therefore Johnson lacked access to the oil for 34 of his ...