By Associated Press
Buffalo, NY – James Kopp, the anti-abortion activist who admitted gunning down a doctor in his home, has filed a civil complaint accusing the facility where he is being held of depriving him of his right to practice religion.
In a complaint in U.S. District Court, Kopp names President and Laura Bush, the former President George Bush and the companies contracted to supervise recreational activities at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, where Kopp is awaiting trial.
Roman Catholic detainees are not allowed to "attend weekly Mass, fulfill their spiritual obligation and exercise their God-given constitutional right to freedom of religion," according to the complaint, filed April 5.
The facility also "did prevent weekly confessions from being heard," the complaint said.
A call to the detention center was not immediately returned.
The complaint seeks an immediate line of communication to the local diocese and weekly access to clergy.
Kopp, who was convicted last year on a state charge of murdering Dr. Barnett Slepian of Amherst, is awaiting trial in federal court on a charge of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act by using deadly force to stop Slepian from providing reproductive health services.
Kopp was sentenced to 25 years to life on the state charge and could face a possible life term if convicted in federal court. Kopp admitted firing a single shot through a window into Slepian's suburban Buffalo home but said he wanted only to wound the doctor to prevent him from performing abortions.
The religion complaint is not the first Kopp has made about the detention center. At a January court appearance, he told a judge he has been threatened by other inmates and asked for better access to federal marshals.
Kopp spent 2 1/2 years as a fugitive after the October 1998 shooting, spending time in Ireland and elsewhere before being captured in France in March 2001.