May 18, 2013 1 min read

CLEVELAND (AP) – Some of the Amish sentenced in beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio are upset with federal prison education requirements.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has required some to study for high school equivalency certificates. The Amish claim that violates their First Amendment rights.

Defense attorney Edward Bryan, who represented the leader of the group, tells The Plain Dealer that he intends to write a letter of protest to prison officials.

He cited a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Amish children may not be forced to attend school past eighth grade.

In response, prison system spokesman Chris Burke cited prison rules calling high-school equivalency classes a first step toward returning to society.

Bryan says the Amish deserve a religious exemption.