SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota prison inmate has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that state corrections staff and a food services company limit his ability to practice his religious beliefs by serving him food that is not kosher.
The lawsuit filed by inmate James Irving Dale names several defendants, including Sioux Falls-based Correctional Food Service and Robert Dooley, who is the warden of the Mike Durfee State Prison.
Dale, who describes himself as Jewish, claims that the preparation practices for kosher meals in the kitchen at the state's medium-security prison do not conform to Jewish dietary laws.
He says that a rice entree that is the main course for the "religious/kosher trays" is often not kosher. He says it contains pork flavoring and pork byproducts.
Dale's lawsuit asks for compensatory damages.
The Department of Corrections didn't immediately return a request for comment.
