#BREAKING: The Supreme Court just stopped the execution of Texas death-row inmate #RubenGutierrez, hours before it would take place, because Texas refused to give him access to a Christian chaplain in his last moments before death. #SCOTUS #deathpenalty https://go.aws/30L5shn 

The prisoner asked for an emergency order based on both the federal civil rights law known as #RLUIPA and the #FirstAmendment. The Court stopped the execution, telling the trial court to “promptly” review TX’s security concerns with having a chaplain in the death chamber. (2/x)

Last year SCOTUS granted a stay to a Buddhist prisoner who sought comfort of clergy. In that prior case – where @BecketLaw stepped in to support the prisoner – the Supreme Court also granted a stay. https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/murphy-v-collier/ (3/x)

Unfortunately, Texas resolved that case by eliminating chaplains in the death chamber for *all* prisoners – presented as an equal treatment claim, even where the chaplains had safely served in that role for decades. In other words, equality of deprivation. (4/x)

But equality of deprivation is not what the Constitution and federal civil rights laws guarantee. Instead they protect the free exercise of religion for everyone, even in prison, where decades of experience show it is possible to safely allow chaplains in the death chamber. (5/x)

Here, Texas has never claimed that its own state-employed chaplains – who could meet Gutierrez’s religious needs – would pose any security threat. Just last year, it told the Court that these chaplains can be trusted even in the difficult circumstances of the death chamber. (6/x)

Texas only stated that in a hypothetical future case, it *might* raise security concerns if another, unidentified prisoner sought comfort of clergy that were unprepared for the task. (7/x)

As the @TXCatholic Bishops pointed out in their brief supporting #RubenGutierrez, #SCOTUS has rejected as a defense “If I make an exception for you, I’ll have to make one for everybody, so no exceptions.” (8/x)

This is a huge win for religious liberty, and for basic human decency. If Texas can allow a condemned man comfort of clergy, it must. Thank you to @TXCatholic Bishops for their public witness in this case. (end)