A new ruling in Britian now allows prisoners to keep "twigs" inside their prison cells for use as wands. This policy allows the prisoners the right to carry and decorate their wands for use in rituals and is the latest attempt to protect the religious freedom of prisoners. These wands will join prayer mats as acceptable religious artifacts.

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Oh, all of the neat sinister things that I can do with this stick ... maybe I'll poke an eyeball out or give Bubba a "small" splinter in his center ... or, or maybe I can jab it into that one guy's earcanal and pull out his brains!!

Come on people are we demanding human rights or human wrongs???

You'd be surprised what a prisoner with too much time on his hands can make into a shank. Or worse. A friend of mine who did ten years inside was telling me about how he knew how to make a "musket" out of the most ordinary things; paper, a pen, a pebble, a match, a playing card. They call it musket-balling. And it can kill another inmate, and can injure from 10ft out.

Craziness. And no, he wasn't fibbin', he demonstrated it in the backyard for us; it really works.

Until they stick their twig inside someone.

Oh dear. Think of it the clean way.

Not to mention just the plain sillyness of it all.....

I can understand that.....MAYBE....you have to allow prisoners to worshop however they choose (in MY world even this would be up for debate), but I highly doubt that possessing religious artifacts is a basic human right. If so....I'm going to start a religion that uses diamonds, oil, and gold for ritualistic purposes.

If you really want to hurt someone you can use about anything even a bible. I bet a Bible is a handy place to hide things. I think letting Pagans keep a stick for ritual is not so bad. At least it is not an atheme.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have their sticks, or wands, or whatever they'd like to call them... they should be able to have them provided they're well monitored. And really... an ordinary stick anyway, can be found out in the prison yard; just like a pebble for a musket-ball.

I dunno, as long as the warden is comfortable with the situation, I don't care. It's his prison.

lol XD*Clears mind of nasty thoughts*

You really can. If you tear out the pages and get a bunch of them to fold you can make a stabbing weapon. Sounds foolish to kill with a paper 'knife' but it can be done.

At least they're not asking for an athame*. It's a ritual knife for those that don't know.

*checked google, I spelt it right. yeah me! lol

"bah ha ha ha aaaah"

Aww why not? Just as long as no one gets lost there eye ball! "he,he"

Yes paper can be strong enough to stab if you swing it the right way. And fold it the right way too. By the way, whats a musket.

it's an old fashioned rifle, like what they used in the 16 and 1700's... it's manually loaded and fired with gunpowder.

You mean he can shoot without gunpowder? Wait, Do we call that a catapult or a zing type of thing?

Apparently there's recipe for using a match head as a substitue for gun powder in one of these "musket" style prison "guns". The red dye from a playing card apparently reacts somehow with the match as well to give it an explosive effect. I saw one of these work right before my very eyes. I'm glad the family cat wasn't running through the backyard at the time.

That is freaking amazing. Now if only they put that time and energy into being good citizens...


edit edit - nvm, don't want to blow my fingers off

The match head provides sulfur, one of the three components of gun powder. Gun powder is an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre or saltpeter) Hmm, if I were warden I'd be adding saltpetre into the inmate's diets............

Mythbusters did a episode on what can be made in a cell and given time, can make about anything into a weapon.

Like I mentioned, I have a close friend who did 10 years in a fedral supermax prison (Walla Walla).

He also showed us how inmates make homemade tattoo guns.... out of a cassette player. No kidding. It folds back up so it looks just like a tape player when the CO comes around.

My friend never actually used or made any of these things while inside, even avoided a prison tatt (he says it's a good way to get hepititus and others not so grand ailments)... he was the guy that watched for the CO making rounds and was the casual camera blocker for other inmates.

While musket guns, paper spears are interesting, they're apparently not used that often and most guys get caught making them before they can actually use them. The most common weapons in prisons are still a tube sock filled with rocks pilfered from the yard (even more common than shanks). Or just plain fists.

I honestly don't see how a piece of wood can be viewed as a religious item. Has anyone actually heard of a religion with religious items like sticks?!

Warden, my religion demands that I be provided with a heavy-duty catapult and a parachute.

And Vestal Virgins. Warden, I really must have Vestal Virgins, and lots of privacy.

My religion also requires bolt cutters strong enough to break prison bars and a taser

If I were an inmate who asked to have a "twig" for a freakin wand to actually carry around, I'd have to shank my own azz.

They have to take them away fast before someone goes Harry Potter on the others.

Warden, if you're going to supply me with the virgins, would you please let me withdraw my request for the catapult and the parachute? I just changed religions.

Hahaaaa

Just out of curiosity - if I said that in my religion I was ...say... the Harbinger of Doom, or something along those lines...

Do you think that they would let me carry around a scythe?

"Warden, I worship the Gods of Fire," saith the Arsonist, "and so to carry out the necessary rituals of my holy faith I'll require two 50-gallon drums of kerosene and at least three carboys of propane gas. And marshmallows. I almost forget the marshmallows. Oh, and before I forget, thank you very much."

I am more than willing to hope that this policy is just a really bad joke.

thats stupid,,haha i would give him his wand and say now ill give you 20mins to complete the freedom spell,,,after the 20mins,i would take the want away and call him a fraud.......plus give them their wands and then all the wizards at ascaban would want theres

*points wand to cellmate* STUPEFY!

*points wand to prison guard* "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

*points wand to prision bars* "INCENDIO"

Bwahaha time to escape azkaban baby.

No, not quite. But they might give you a nice pretty white jacket....fits a little too snug, though...and a new cell with nice soft, bouncy walls....

When a Roman Catholic priest is sentenced to prison is he permitted to carry a 25- or 30-pound golden or silver chalice around wherever he goes?

If not, precisely how does this differ from the pagan priest's wand or staff?