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Supreme Court rules Rastafari man can’t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks
The justices said the religious rights law does not allow money-damages claims against state officials, leaving Landor without a federal remedy.
- On Tuesday, The Supreme Court ruled that Damon Landor, a devout Rastafarian, cannot sue Louisiana prison officials for cutting his dreadlocks, restricting religious believers' ability to enforce federal protections in prison.
- During the final three weeks of his five-month term at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, officials shaved Landor's head after a guard discarded a court ruling protecting religious dreadlocks.
- Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act does not permit lawsuits for money damages, holding Congress lacks authority to regulate states under the Spending Clause.
- Three liberal justices dissented, arguing the court should have applied the rationale from a 2020 decision allowing Muslim men to sue under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, though the majority refused to extend that precedent.
- The Rastafari faith, rooted in 1930s Jamaica, promotes connection to Africa and Old Testament teachings, famously spread by Bob Marley; Louisiana officials stated the state amended its prison grooming policy to prevent similar incidents.
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Damon Landor claimed that prison officials violated his religious freedom by raping him despite his beliefs
Court rules former Louisiana inmate cannot sue prison officials in religious dispute over long hair
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections that a Louisiana man cannot sue prison officials who shaved his head even after he showed them a copy of a court ruling that allowed him to keep his long hair for religious reasons. By a vote of 6-3, the justices agreed with the prison officials that a federal law intended to protect the religious rights of prisoners does not authorize Damon Landor’s lawsuit seek…
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Total News Sources69
Leaning Left24Leaning Right2Center41Last UpdatedBias Distribution61% Center
Bias Distribution
- 61% of the sources are Center
61% Center
L 36%
C 61%
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