US atheist inmate can’t be forced into substance abuse program, judge rules

Judge in West Virginia says it would impinge on rights' of incarcerated atheist to participate in religiously affiliated program

A federal judge in West Virginia ruled that the state corrections agency cannot force an incarcerated atheist and secular humanist to participate in religiously affiliated programming in order to be eligible for parole.

Joseph Goodwin, a Charleston-based US district court judge, said the Saint Marys correctional center inmate, Andrew Miller, easily meets his threshold burden of showing an impingement on his rights".