Only days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas could not execute an inmate without allowing a Buddhist chaplain into the death chamber with him, the state has banned all prison chaplains from the chamber in future executions.

Last week, the high court halted the execution of Patrick Murphy, a member of a gang of escaped prisoners known as the "Texas Seven," who had claimed the state was violating his religious rights by not allowing him to have a Buddhist chaplain in the room with him during the execution as it does for Christian and Muslim inmates.

Texas argued that for security reasons, it allows only prison employees in the execution room, and has only Christian and Muslim clerics on the payroll.

In his written opinion, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the court could either allow all chaplains into the execution chambers or none.

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"As this Court has repeatedly held, governmental discrimination against religion — in particular, discrimination against religious persons, religious organizations and religious speech — violates the Constitution," Kavanaugh wrote. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice responded by immediately banning all clerics and chaplains from the execution chamber.

"TDCJ Chaplain(s) will continue to be available to an offender until they are transferred to the execution chamber," department spokesman Jeremy Desel said. "The chaplain will also be present in the viewing room if requested."

Murphy had become a Buddhist while in prison almost a decade ago.

David Dow, one of Murphy's lawyers, said the department's change in policy does not address the main thrust of the Supreme Court's decision.

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“Their arbitrary and, at least for now, hostile response to all religion reveals a real need for close judicial oversight of the execution protocol,” he said.

Murphy, 57, was among seven escaped prisoners who killed a police officer in 2000 after breaking into a sporting goods store to steal money and weapons.

Although Murphy claimed he was only a lookout and had left the scene before the killing, he was judged criminally culpable under Texas law for being part of the gang responsible for the killing. Four of the seven have been executed. One shot himself to avoid capture.

Contributing: Associated Press