The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a former Louisiana inmate cannot sue prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks, stating that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of incarcerated individuals does not permit lawsuits for monetary damages even when those rights are violated.
The justices agreed with lower courts that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) cannot be used to hold individuals financially responsible for violating inmates' rights. The court declined to apply the rationale from a 2020 decision that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on an FBI no-fly list under a related statute.
Damon Landor, the former inmate, had his dreadlocks cut during his five-month prison term in 2020. Upon entering the prison system, he reportedly carried a copy of an appeals court ruling that stated cutting religious prisoners' dreadlocks violated federal law. Initially, officials at his first two facilities respected his religious beliefs. However, his situation changed at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center.
According to court records, a prison guard discarded the copy of the ruling Landor possessed. Subsequently, the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While two guards restrained him, a third shaved his head. Landor filed a lawsuit after his release, but both lower courts dismissed the case. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged Landor's treatment but upheld the dismissal, citing the limitations of RLUIPA.
Louisiana officials stated that the state has since amended its prison grooming policy to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The Rastafari faith, which originated in 1930s Jamaica, is characterized by a blend of Old Testament teachings and a desire for repatriation to Africa, emerging as a response to white colonial oppression. The faith gained international recognition through the music of Jamaican icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in the 1970s.