{"id":2683,"date":"2026-06-23T20:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2683"},"modified":"2026-06-23T20:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:33:43","slug":"supreme-court-rules-rastafari-man-cant-sue-louisiana-prison-officials-who-cut-his-dreadlocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2683","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court rules Rastafari man can\u2019t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON<\/strong> | The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages even when rights are violated.<\/p>\n

The high court agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, can\u2019t be used to hold those who violate inmates\u2019 rights financially responsible.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI\u2019s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department, which argued against the plaintiffs in the no-fly list case in President Donald Trump\u2019s first Republican administration, had sided with Landor.<\/p>\n

No one defended what happened to Landor during his five-month prison term in 2020. When he entered the prison system, he carried a copy of an appeals court ruling in another inmate\u2019s case holding that cutting religious prisoners\u2019 dreadlocks violated the federal law.<\/p>\n

At his first two stops, officials respected his beliefs. But things changed when he got to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, for the final three weeks of his term.<\/p>\n

A prison guard took the copy of the ruling Landor carried and tossed it in the trash, according to court records. Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While two guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, the records show.<\/p>\n

Landor sued after his release, but lower courts dismissed the case. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lamented Landor\u2019s treatment but said the law doesn\u2019t allow him to hold prison officials liable for damages.<\/p>\n

Louisiana wrote that \u201cthe state has amended its prison grooming policy to ensure that nothing like petitioner\u2019s alleged experience can occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rastafari faith is rooted in 1930s Jamaica, growing as a response by Black people to white colonial oppression. Its beliefs are a melding of Old Testament teachings and a desire to return to Africa. Its message was spread across the world in the 1970s by Jamaican music icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, two of the faith\u2019s most famous exponents.<\/p>\n

Follow the AP\u2019s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/us-supreme-court.<\/p>\n

Read more Patrols and nanobubbles on display at the Reflecting Pool as Trump looks for a renovation do-over<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship, saying it could wrongly purge voters<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Aurora Council approves initiative to review, boost family support and affordability<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1101,1093,1094,1133,1134,67,1103,63,1144],"tags":[4351,4352,302,4353,4354,303],"class_list":["post-2683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-no-apple-publish","category-0recent-headlines","category-0trending","category-1gridnation","category-1gridnationandstate","category-nation","category-uncategorized","category-world","category-z-ntl-galley","tag-damon-landor","tag-federal-law","tag-louisiana","tag-prison-officials","tag-rastafari-religion","tag-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court rules Rastafari man can\u2019t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2683\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supreme Court rules Rastafari man can\u2019t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. 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