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Friday January 11, 2008

White supremacist or kosher eater?

A Missouri inmate once labeled a white supremacist is fighting for his right to be served kosher meals in prison.

Norman Lee Toler, serving a 10-year sentence for statutory rape, insists he is Jewish despite guards at an Illinois penitentiary catching him with photos of Adolf Hitler and white supremacist literature.

He also has several white supremacist tattoos, including a fresh “SS.”

Toler was in federal court last week to argue that his soul will be in jeopardy if he is forced to eat nonkosher food.

In the lawsuit, he said prison officials repeatedly denied his requests for kosher food, violating federal law and his constitutional right of religious expression.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth said the state may have to change the policy for verifying inmates’ religious preferences if Toler wins the case.

The Department of Corrections currently establishes religious preferences by having an inmate merely check a box on a form.

Another corrections official, however, said a plan to provide kosher and vegan meals was rejected several years ago because of the higher cost. Currently, none of the 60 or 70 Missouri inmates who identify themselves as Jewish receive kosher meals.

Prison officials and staff also question the sincerity of Toler’s religious claims.

He was sentenced in 1999 to more than eight years in prison for robbery in Illinois and was found with the white supremacist material, including seven photos of Hitler, before being released on parole in 2003.

Toler is serving his current term for statutory rape of a minor under 14.

Prison officials said he didn’t inform them of the need for kosher meals until 10 months after his arrival to state prison.

“We have serious factual doubts about both his request and his sincerity,” said John Fougere, spokesman for the Missouri attorney general. — ap

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