A federal appeals court has again rejected a Kansas prison inmate’s bid to “co-habitate and procreate” with a woman whose mother the couple were convicted of killing.

34-year-old Joshua Robertson sued state prison officials for refusing to allow him to have conjugal contact with 32-year-old Jennifer Self, a woman he describes as his common-law wife.

The pair are serving life sentences for killing Self’s mother in 2002.

Roberts claimed in his suit that his constitutional rights to freely practice his religious beliefs were being violated.

A federal judge and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously dismissed the suit, finding that a prison inmate has no constitutional right to contact visitation.

The 10th Circuit on Thursday denied an additional appeal.

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Associated Press information from: The Kansas City Star