An Alabama inmate on death row, whose death sentence led to discussions about the Constitutional right of religious freedom, will be executed on Thursday, July 18 by lethal injection. Keith Gavin is Muslim. He’s sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of a delivery driver.
Officials have agreed to forgo an autopsy on his body after he sued the State of Alabama, stating that if the procedure following his death was allowed, it would violate his religious beliefs. Under Alabama law, a medical examiner is required to investigate any death that takes place in any penal institution in the state, and the law gives discretion to state officials to order a postmortem autopsy if the death is deemed unlawful, suspicious or unnatural.
“There really is no reason why Alabama needs to perform an autopsy,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the country. “There will be no mystery about how he died. No question of how he passed away.”
Gavin’s death sentence has sparked conversations over the Constitutional right of religious freedom. Mitchell said those who are incarcerated still have that choice, and prisons have an obligation to accommodate sacred practices, no matter the faith.
“Religious freedom does not end at the walls of a prison. The Constitution applies everywhere, including within Alabama correctional facilities, even on death row,” he explained. “The government cannot restrict the practice of religion without the most pressing, the most compelling of reasons.”
Mitchell said Gavin is requesting his body be treated the way every other Muslim is treated when they've passed away, which is to be washed by their closest relatives, clothed in a white shroud and buried without being unnecessarily dissected.
“As Muslims, we firmly believe in the importance of treating human beings and all living things with respect, and that includes after death,” he explained. “Most Muslims believe that it’s inappropriate to perform an autopsy on someone unless it's necessary. An autopsy obviously involves opening up a person's chest, taking out their organs, doing other such things to their body that we believe to defile a person.”
Mitchell said while there are not many Muslims on death row in America, this case does set a precedent when it comes to death and religious freedom.
“Most of the conflicts that we have seen occur involving the few Muslims who are on death row involve not the burial issue, but the end-of-life issues,” he said. “Hopefully, this will benefit everyone who is on death row and still has that basic religious freedom to have their body buried according to the rules of their faith, whether they're a Christian, Hindu, a Jew, a Muslim or an atheist. They have the right to have their body buried the way they want it to be buried.”
Mitchell said the end-of-life issues that have arisen for Muslims behind bars have also happened to both Christians and Buddhists. In May of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court supported the religious rights of death row inmates, ruling 8 to 1 in favor of a convicted Texas murderer who requested his Baptist pastor to touch him and pray aloud at the time of his execution. Justices ruled the Lone Star State could accommodate the requests without compromising the lethal injection process.
With talks of Islam and the Muslim faith being brought up with the July 18 execution of Gavin, Mitchell pointed out some Americans might be confused or unaware of these practices.
“I think many more Americans are aware of their Muslim neighbors, but there's still a great deal of, I would say, ignorance,” he said. “There are still some gaping holes there in terms of the American people having a good understanding of their Muslim neighbors and Islam.”
Mitchell conducts interfaith presentations, which have taken place in churches, mosques and even with the Tea Party. He said there are a lot of stigmas and misconceptions surrounding Muslims that people believe.
“They're shocked to learn that Muslims respect Jesus Christ. We don't worship Jesus as a God, or the son of God, but we do respect him as a human, man, as a prophet, as a messenger of God sent to right wrongs,” he explained. “They are shocked to know that Muslims don't eat pork, don't drink alcohol, many things that Jews also follow.”
Mitchell said when people learn about their Muslim neighbors, it breaks down barriers. He said it’s harder for people to have prejudice against others once they know a little bit about them.
“I think that's something that we can all benefit from, learning of people of different religions, different faiths in our neighborhood,” he explained. “If you're the average American, and you don't have any Muslim friends, and you don't have any Muslim neighbors, and all you know about Islam is what you see on cable news at night, you might be afraid of Muslims. When American Muslims are engaging with their neighbors and other faiths, that breaks down barriers. It breaks down misunderstanding,” Mitchell continued.
CAIR offers guides and informational pamphlets about various issues related to Muslims and Islam. Those resources can be found here.
Mitchell said CAIR has also been making an effort for decades to educate prison officials about the practice of Islam. This is done through the Council’s Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices.
“The unique needs that Muslim inmates may have in terms of their diet. The need to pray five times a day. The need to attend the Friday prayer service known as Jumu‘ah. These are basic things that all Muslims engage in,” he explained. “Prisons can and should and must accommodate base religious practice, whether it's Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.”
Gavin’s lethal injection death sentence comes as Alabama faced scrutiny over its executions. Multiple failed lethal injections prompted an internal review of the prison system and practices in 2022.
Governor Kay Ivey asked the state Department of Corrections to conduct a “top-to-bottom review of the state’s execution process” after the problems came into the national spotlight, CNN reported. Alabama resumed executions in spring of 2023 after the review was completed.
If Gavin's lethal injection sentence is carried out on July 18, it will be the third execution in Alabama so far in 2024.
