Missouri Prison Ordered to Pay $667,000 to Muslim Inmates Abused During Prayer

Missouri Prison Ordered to Pay $667,000 to Muslim Inmates Abused During Prayer
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Eight Muslim inmates who were pepper-sprayed and subjected to inhumane treatment while praying at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre, Missouri have been awarded $667,000 in damages by a federal jury. The judgment follows a 2023 lawsuit accusing correctional officers of violating the men’s constitutional rights to freedom of religion and equal protection on February 28, 2021.

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Legal Defense Fund, the inmates were handcuffed, pepper-sprayed, forced to walk in freezing snow and mud, and confined in bare cells without beds, heat, or running water, while medical care was repeatedly denied. CAIR staff attorney Nadia Bayado described the verdict as a warning to the Missouri Department of Corrections against “brutalizing and inhumanely treating incarcerated individuals.”

The lawsuit also highlighted systemic discrimination: Muslims in the facility were reportedly treated as gang members, denied congregational prayer privileges, and subjected to retaliatory disciplinary actions after filing grievances. By contrast, Christian inmates were allowed group prayer and religious programs.

CAIR warned that the ruling comes amid rising Islamophobia nationally, amplified by political rhetoric from some Republican officials alleging that Muslims threaten U.S. society. The group called the verdict a reminder that religious freedom protections must apply to all Americans, including incarcerated populations.

The damages will be divided among the eight men, who continue to deal with long-term physical and psychological effects from the abuse.