A federal judge on Monday rejected a convicted serial killer's request that he be allowed to participate in an Indian sweat lodge ceremony before his execution this week. Lawyers for Darrell Rich had gone to federal court to try to force prison officials to allow Rich, who is part Cherokee, to use a sweat lodge on prison grounds as a religious last rite. It really is just a matter of whether or not you can let this man go to church before he is executed,'' lawyer James Thomson told U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. But state officials said the sweat lodge is too high a security risk. Sweat lodges are used in some American Indian religious ceremonies to purify the spirit.
Participants sit within an enclosed structure and pray while water is poured over fire-heated rocks.
Walker agreed that prison officials have legitimate security concerns and said they have given Rich the same treatment as inmates of other faiths. Rich's lawyers are appealing the ruling. Rich was convicted of killing three women and a girl and attacking five other women. He is scheduled to die early Wednesday. Gov. Gray Davis on Friday turned down a request for clemency.