East Texas Inmate Denied Locks of Dead Parents’ Hair

TENNESSEE COLONY (AP) � An East Texas inmate wants to connect to the spirits of his dead parents, but prison officials have prohibited him from possessing a lock of their hair he says he needs for a Native American religious ritual. William Chance is incarcerated at Anderson County�s Michael Unit. He says the small pieces of hair will allow him to properly mourn the deaths of his parents. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials say the hair poses a security risk because it would be supplied to the inmate by a family member, not a vendor approved by the prison agency. A federal appeals court has rejected other religious issues the 57-year-old Chance has raised in a lawsuit but says the hair appears to be harmless. The case is likely to go to trial early next year in Tyler.