§ 12-47-26 — Uniform kindly treatment of inmates

1. The warden and all officers of the penitentiary uniformly shall treat the inmates of the
penitentiary with kindness, and the warden shall require of the officers and guards that,
in the execution of the officers' and guards' respective duties, the officers and guards
in all cases shall refrain from boisterous and unbecoming language in giving orders
and commands. Corporal or other painful or unusual punishment may not be inflicted
upon the inmates of the penitentiary for violation of the rules and regulations of the
penitentiary.
2. A facility under the control of the department of corrections and rehabilitation may not:
a. Substantially burden the exercise of religion by an offender in the custody of the
facility unless the burden is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest
and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental
interest;
b. Treat religious conduct more restrictively than any comparable secular conduct
unless the facility demonstrates the disparate treatment is necessary to further a
compelling penological interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that
compelling penological interest; or
c. Deny clergy access to an offender in the custody of the facility for the purpose of
providing religious services unless the facility demonstrates the denial is
necessary to further a compelling penological interest and is the least restrictive
means of furthering that compelling penological interest.
3. An offender in the custody of a facility claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of
subsection 2 may assert, after exhausting appropriate administrative remedies, that
violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and, if the offender is the

prevailing party, may obtain appropriate relief, including costs and reasonable
attorney's fees.