DATELINE MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (UPI) October 10, 1989 TIME 1546pd CYCLE bc A convicted murder

  DATELINE: MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (UPI)   October 10, 1989
  TIME: 15:46pd   CYCLE: bc
 
  A  convicted  murderer  serving  a  life  sentence  in  the West Virginia
Penitentiary  charged  in a lawsuit that the state is denying him the right
to practice his religion Satanism.
 
   Kenneth  Chance,  of  Bel  Air,  Md.,  said  other types of religion are
encouraged  at  the  prison  and he is suffering mental anguish because the
warden will not allow him to practice Satanism.
 
    Chance  filed  suit  recently  in Marshall County Circuit Court against
Warden  Carl Legursky and Corrections Commissioner Ronald Gregory. The suit
asks for punitive damages of $50,000 and compensatory damages of $25,000.
 
    Assistant Attorney General Rita Stuart said Tuesday that among Chance's
demands  are  a  black  hooded robe, candles, a chalice and a darkened room
where guards would be prohibited from peeking. 

    "It  is  one man's choice and he can believe whatever he wants," Stuart
said.  "The  outer  trappings  and  the  way he chooses to practice what he
believes may not be allowed if there is a risk to the institution.
 
    "They  sound  real  innocent  at  first  blush, but if you look at them
through  the  eyes  of  a  correctional  officer  it  takes  on a different
meaning."
 
    Circuit  Judge  Steven  Narick continued the case until Oct. 6 to allow
time  for  Legursky  and Gregory to respond to the charges because Chance's
original  complaint  was  brought  against the men who held those positions
under the previous administration.
 
    Chance  is  serving  a  life  plus 30 years sentence, meaning he has no
chance  of  parole,  for  the  1983  robbery  and murder of Wayne Erdman, a
22-year-old forestry student at West Virginia University.
 
    Prosecutors  said  Chance  and  a co-defendant, Edward Watkins, flagged
down  Erdman  in  Coopers  Rock  State Forest on the pretext that they were
having engine trouble with a van.
 
    Watkins  pleaded  guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 5 
to 18 years after agreeing to testify against Chance.
 
    Corrections  Commissioner Ron Gregory said the administration has tried
to accomodate Chance and legal complaints such as his are common.
 
    "Listen,  I've  seen  where  they  have  lawsuits for wanting pizza for
communion," Gregory said Tuesday. "Where does it end?"