Latest news with #Wiccan
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Prison can't stop Indigenous man from wearing religious headband, RI judge rules
A prison that denied an Indigenous inmate's request to wear a religious headband four times will now have to let him wear it and update its policies regarding similar requests, a Rhode Island judge ruled. A complaint filed in January 2024 argued that the Rhode Island Department of Corrections violated the religious rights of Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh, who is incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. More than a year after the complaint was filed, a judge has ruled that the prison can't stop Pawochawog-Mequinosh from wearing the headband, according to an April 30 settlement agreement. RIDOC officials emphasized the importance of restrictions around religious items for security purposes while expressing their support for the agreement in a May 6 statement provided to McClatchy News. 'I am pleased we were able to work with our counterparts to resolve this matter in way that both acknowledges the constitutional rights of our population and preserves our efforts to maintain safety in our secure facilities,' RIDOC Director Wayne T. Salisbury Jr. said in the statement. Religious exemption requests denied Pawochawog-Mequinosh, who was raised in the White Mountain Apache Tribe tradition, began trying to get permission to wear a traditional religious cloth headband that expresses 'his Apache faith and the unity of the tribe and spirits' in 2019, according to the complaint. While the Federal Bureau of Prisons recognizes Native American headbands as religious items, the state-run prison in Rhode Island did not, and denied Pawochawog-Mequinosh's requests on four separate occasions, the complaint said. '(RIDOC's) denial of Wolf's requests to obtain and wear an Apache headband has caused Wolf severe daily distress, as he is unable to express his religious traditions and beliefs as he sincerely understands them,' attorneys said. What made it especially difficult for Pawochawog-Mequinosh is that on multiple occasions when corresponding with officials about his request, he would be asked to choose between religious practices because his particular tradition was not recognized in the prison's system, according to the complaint. In the prison's system, Pawochawog-Mequinosh's religious designation was listed as 'Pagan/Wiccan' which he had chosen as the closest fit to his beliefs based on advice from the RIDOC counselor, according to the complaint. The system did not include a 'Native American' religious designation. In choosing this designation, he was able to get significant religious items, like tarot cards and rune stones, and attend religious ceremonies consistent with the White Mountain Apache Tribe tradition, but wearing an Apache headband was not permitted, attorneys said. On multiple requests, RIDOC officials used his religious designation to justify denying him the right to obtain and wear a headband, according to the complaint. Religious rights upheld In April, the court sided with Pawochawog-Mequinosh by ruling that the prison must allow him to both wear the religious headband and retain access to religious items he was already using, according to the settlement. The judge also gave the RIDOC a 120-day deadline to implement procedures for inmates in similar situations whose religion isn't identified in the system, according to the settlement. The prison system also has to pay $40,000 in attorneys' fees to Pawochawog-Mequinosh's legal council. Cranston is about a five-mile drive southwest from Providence.
New York Post
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Meet the ‘tattoo minister' who wards off demons in his Times Square parlor
Tattoo unto others as you would have them tattoo unto you. Tucked in a third-floor parlor above the bustling streets of Times Square lies the only 'tattoo ministry' in the world — where artist Tommy Houlihan plays God deciding what tattoos his customers are allowed to get and where they can get them. 'One day, God is going to say, 'Why did you put this little demon next to this girl's pelvis?' What am I going to say, 'For money?' ' Houlihan, 55, told The Post. Advertisement 'I have to answer for it one day.' 9 Tommy Houlihan's Times Square tattoo shop doubles as a Catholic 'ministry.' Stephen Yang The lifelong Hell's Kitchen resident requires customers to keep it clean, only tattooing certain parts of the body while doling out G-rated images — and miraculous medals to all who stop, hoping that the iconography will help his customers convert to the Catholic faith. Advertisement Most visitors to the Manhattan shop accept the token willingly, but there are a few who refuse the tiny oval medal — including one woman who he says was clearly possessed. 'She started debating me and said, 'You Catholics and your cute little purgatory.' All I could think is that this woman's actually manifesting that possession. She's under attack in some way and is showing through this,' the tattoo artist said. What people don't know is that the ink of a tattoo not only punctures the flesh but can invite demons to take over the soul, Houlihan claimed. 9 Houlihan hands out miraculous medals to everyone who walks through his shop's door. Stephen Yang Advertisement 9 The medal is said to instantly convert people to Catholicism. Stephen Yang 9 Houlihan was born a Catholic but became extra pious three years ago. Stephen Yang That's why Houlihan refuses to take on any sacrilegious artwork, ranging from ouji boards and angel numbers to inverted crosses and images of the Virgin Mary with her breasts exposed. Some anime and fictional characters are even too disrespectful for Houlihan to ink. 'Harry Potter is absolutely satanic. I mean, JK Rowling, one of the things about Harry Potter was to draw Christian kids to the Wiccan faith,' Houlihan claimed. 'She said that. I believe it was on Christmas Eve and on an English radio show in 2016, and they yanked it off the air. You can't find.' Advertisement Because of his location in the heart of the Crossroads of the World, Houlihan typically deals with tourists looking to get commemorative pieces of their trip to the Big Apple, rather than something more sinister. But there's still the issue of the placement of a requested tattoo, he said. 9 Houlihan refuses to tattoo any art that is sacrilegious, references demons or invokes sexuality. Stephen Yang 'It's not always about a satanic piece, but it's the intent,' Houlihan said. 'Nothing wrong with getting a butterfly, but if she wants a butterfly fluttering across her pelvic area, I'm not doing it,' he said of prospective female customers. As a tattoo artist for three decades, Houlihan previously inked plenty of impious artwork on clients but had a literal come-to-Jesus moment roughly three years ago when he met Zachary King — who claims to be a reformed satanic 'high wizard' who left the occult after being instantly converted through the miraculous medal. 9 Most customers accept the medal when it is offered to them, according to Houlihan. Tommy Houlihan 9 Many of Houlihan's clients are tourists looking for pieces that commemorate their trip to the Big Apple. Tommy Houlihan Advertisement That's when Houlihan, a lifelong Catholic, dove deeper into his faith and began handing out the same miraculous medal to everyone who walks through his shop's doors in hopes of changing more lives. At any given time, Houlihan might have Gregorian chants or a reading from the Theologians over his shop's speakers to ward off what he calls evil spirits and demons. His approach seems to have worked on some — including a woman who walked in wanting a Betty Boop with devil horns and a tail inked on her hip bone. 'I said, 'I'm not going to do it. You're turning it into a demon, it's obviously demonic … and I'm not going to tattoo you there no matter what because you're trying to make yourself more sexually attracted by putting this tattoo here. That's sinful,' ' Houlihan recalled. Advertisement 9 Houlihan refused to do a variety of 'demonic' tattoos, including oujie boards and Harry Potter-themed art. Reddit/ Facebook 'I explained this to her, and she said she hadn't thought of it that way. I think that if I had not given her that medal, that she might be a little more hostile about it and gave me an attitude, but she wasn't. So that's the kind of graces that come with this.' Houlihan himself was once covered with 'very violent images,' such as the extraterrestrial ripping out of John Hurt's chest from the 1979 movie 'Alien, which he said he had done during a rebellious phase. 9 Houlihan admits he was once inked with 'violent' tattoos that he's since had covered up. Stephen Yang Advertisement He became a tattoo artist in 1989 and worked in illegal parlors for nearly a decade until tattooing became legal in 1997, he said. Houlihan believes that tattooing itself isn't sinful but that the community is a 'den of vipers' riddled with an affinity for the dark and violent, which he hopes to be a counter to. He said an exorcist once lauded him by saying, 'You're the anti-venom.'
Boston Globe
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Native American inmate secures right to wear religious Apache headband in settlement with R.I. prisons
Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'This case reflects a fundamental principle: People in prison may lose their liberty but they cannot be deprived of their humanity, and the free exercise of religion is a basic human right,' Jared Goldstein, director of the litigation clinic, said in a statement. Related : Advertisement According to the lawsuit, Pawochawog-Mequinosh was raised in the spiritual tradition of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the headband 'expresses his sincere religious beliefs arising from the Apache tradition.' While Muslim and Jewish prisoners were allowed to wear kufis and yarmulkes, the Department of Corrections 'had repeatedly denied Wolf's requests for a headband on the grounds that his religion was designated as 'Pagan/Wiccan' in RIDOC's data management system,' the ACLU said. Advertisement 'RIDOC's system does not include a religious designation for adherents of Native American religious traditions,' the ACLU said. The lawsuit was filed under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 'which bars states from imposing any substantial burden on a prisoner's exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling interest and is the least restrictive means available,' the ACLU said. In a statement, the state Department of Corrections said the settlement 'will result in the dismissal' of the lawsuit with 'no fault attributed to RIDOC.' 'The wearing of headbands and access to various religious items without reasonable and legally permissible limitations raises several security concerns with RIDOC's facilities, as these items can be repurposed in ways that could present a safety risk to staff and the incarcerated population,' the department said. 'However, an agreement was reached which allows RIDOC to maintain security and minimize safety risks while permitting the Plaintiff to wear an approved headband and access approved items in accordance with his religious beliefs and applicable policies.' Department of Corrections Director Wayne T. Salisbury Jr. said the agency believes in 'maintaining a constitutional and balanced approach to security when enacting protocols and procedures.' 'I am pleased we were able to work with our counterparts to resolve this matter in a way that both acknowledges the constitutional rights of our population and preserves our efforts to maintain safety in our secure facilities,' Salisbury said in a statement. Pawochawog-Mequinosh was formerly known as Brian Brownell and legally changed his name in 2022, according to the ACLU. Pawochawog-Mequinosh received his name from an Apache elder when he was a child, and 'changing his legal name was important to him because it connected him to his 'spirituality, religion, and history,'' the organization said. Advertisement Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man serving life at ACI can wear Apache headband after court settlement
The John J. Moran Medium Security Facility at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, where Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh is serving a life sentence. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island's Department of Corrections has agreed to let an Indigenous man incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in Cranston wear a headband reflecting the religious practices of his tribe. That largely resolves a federal lawsuit filed in January 2024 by the ACLU of Rhode Island and the Roger Williams University (RWU) School of Law Prisoners' Rights Litigation Clinic. The suit accused the state prison system of violating inmate Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh's right to freely exercise his religion under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. An example of a headband attached in the settlement agreement. (Screenshot) Pawochawog-Mequinosh and the state reached the agreement on April 30. Under the terms, the Department of Corrections will cover the $40,000 in legal fees and $405 in costs to the plaintiff's lawyers, Jared Goldstein, director of the RWU Law legal clinic and ACLU cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger. Pawochawog-Mequinosh, who is serving a life sentence at the ACI for two first-degree sexual assault convictions, sued the department in January 2024 after he claimed prisonadministrators repeatedly denied his request to wear a White Mountain Apache Tribe headband. Formerly known as Brian Brownell of Tiverton, he was sentenced in August 2023. Prison officials denied the requests because his religion is designated as 'Pagan/Wiccan' in the department's data management system. The Department of Corrections did not offer a religious designation for those who follow Native American religious traditions, according to the lawsuit. The settlement gives the Department of Corrections 120 days to establish a way for inmates whose religions are not explicitly recognized by the prison to request approval for religious items and services consistent with their beliefs. The ACLU and the RWU Law legal clinic will have up to 30 days to determine if the settlement terms have been fulfilled. 'This case reflects a fundamental principle: People in prison may lose their liberty but they cannot be deprived of their humanity, and the free exercise of religion is a basic human right,' Goldstein said in a statement Wednesday. Department of Corrections spokesperson J.R. Ventura did not immediately respond to request for comment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The Sun
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Pop star Florence Welch forced to halt revamp plans on £1.9million estate after builders unearth SKELETONS
FLORENCE Welch's renovation plans on her £1.9million country estate have unearthed another problem - medieval skeletons. The Dog Days Are Over singer bought the sprawling estate in Somerset four years ago but has still not moved in after a series of setbacks. 3 3 Her plans to re-unify four buildings which have been separate since the 1940s have been approved by the local council. But an archaeological report says groundwork on the 12th century estate could dig-up ancient human skeletons, as well as medieval artefacts. A source close to the project said: 'Florence has owned three of the buildings and the estate for four years and is fascinated with medieval history and the history of her new home in particular. 'She knew the fourth might be coming up for sale so when she was able to buy it in 2023 she snapped it up. 'It enables her to work towards her dream of living in an ancient, gothic-style building and enjoying time away from London.' A 22-page archaeology report submitted to Somerset Council by John Moore Heritage Services says 'there is clear potential for archaeological remains dating to the medieval period'.' It adds: 'If human remains are encountered and have to be removed, they will be cleaned, recorded and lifted in accordance with a Ministry of Justice licence. 'Exhumation and post-excavation treatment will be carried out in accordance with published …All associated deposits, e.g. pyre sites, mausolea and mortuary enclosures, will also be fully investigated and excavated.' An agreement has been made with Florence, of Indie band Florence and the Machine, that she will give any historical artefacts to the Somerset Museums Service. The Grade II listed pile boasts walled landscaped gardens and a touch of history. The property has over fifty rooms across three floors and a swimming pool. Florence, 38, has had a lifelong fascination with historical buildings. She told Vogue magazine in 2011: 'I really want a gothic castle, or a church, but I haven't had time because I've only been home for two weeks in the last year.' The bohemian singer is known for her spirituality, which should come in handy with the rumoured resident ghost. The buildings, near the trendy celebrity heavy town of Frome and posh members club Babbington House, are believed to be haunted by a lady in grey. Local folklore says the ghoulish figure was first seen in the 1970s. Raised a Catholic, the songwriter describes herself as agnostic, meaning she believes nothing can be known about the existence of any god. Her lyrics often centre around the supernatural, the occult, witchcraft, pagan practices, and Wiccan traditions, who use magic to honour the elements and cycles of nature. The Sun has contacted reps for Florence for comment. Lewis Capaldi sees cost of revamping 'money pit' mansion soar over £1million By Kevin Duguid LEWIS Capaldi has seen the cost of revamping his 'money pit' mansion soar to more than £1million. The rising bill is on top of the £1.6million the singer, 28, forked out for the farmhouse in 2020. We told how he is due to splash £738,000 on an extension at his country home just outside Glasgow. And paperwork submitted to planning chiefs has now revealed work on a triple garage and office is valued at £360,000. That means a total for improvements of almost £1.1million. But the final tab could be even higher after the Someone You Loved star put in proposals in March to build a music studio at the ten-acre estate. A source said last night: 'At this rate he'll have spent more doing it up than he paid for it. 'He's making the place his own and it should be a good investment in the long run.' Details of the latest costs emerged in a building standards warrant for the garage submitted to East Renfrewshire Council. Lewis got permission to build it last year but needs the warrant to be approved before work can begin. He snapped up the rural property after fellow chart-topper Ed Sheeran scoured the internet looking for a place for him. 3
