An atheist in Northern California, who was jailed for denying the existence of a "higher power" while at a drug rehab, was awarded US$2 million as his religious liberty was violated, reports state.

Barry Hazle Jr., a 46-year-old native of Sasha County was at a drug rehab called Empire Recovery Center located at Redding, California after he got out of prison due to methamphetamine possession charges.

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 In one of the activities during a 12-step treatment program, he was asked to submit himself to the "higher power" via praying but refused to do so causing him to go back behind bars, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Hazle asked officials if he could choose another drug rehab but was told that the Empire Recovery Center was the only state-approved facility in the area. He was then allegedly forced to still submit to the "higher power" or "fake it till he makes it", adds the newspaper.

Despite the attempts of the said center, Hazle still objected and was sent to jail at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco where he was detained for more than a hundred days. The officials who detained him said that Hazle was being disruptive to the staff and to the other students who were in the same treatment program.

Hazle filed a lawsuit back in 2007 including the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and WestCare California. The CDCR then cited a federal case law after the law suit saying that the parole agents cannot compel a parolee to participate if they do not believe in religious-oriented programs.

In 2010, the judge ruled that Hazle's constitutional right for religious freedom was violated but the jury did not award Hazle the damages he was asking for. In 2013, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that he should be entitled to the damages demanded from the companies. 

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