MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge has ruled the city of Marshfield should place a wrought-iron fence around a statue of Jesus on a private piece of land within a public park rather than a masonry wall requested by atheists.
The 15-foot-high statue has been in the park since 1959 but has been a source of dispute since the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation sued to get it removed because its members thought it violated the First Amendment.
The city sold the statue to a private landowner, prompting dismissal of the suit in December 1998. An appellate court ruled in February the sale was appropriate but told the city to differentiate between the public property of the park and the private property on which the statue stands.
The city proposed the 4-foot0high fence and a sign indicating the statue was on private property. The foundation requested the statue be enclosed behind a 10-foot high concrete wall.
U.S. District Court Judge John Shabaz ruled May 9 that a “visual separation” of the statue from the rest of the park was not required.
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