Rastafarian inmate Damon Landor seeks damages after prison guards forcibly cut his dreadlocks, testing religious freedom protections in Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday in the case of a devout Rastafarian whose knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly cut while incarcerated in Louisiana.
Damon Landor seeks permission to sue individual Louisiana Department of Corrections officials for monetary damages over alleged religious rights violations.
“Without damages, officials can literally treat the law like garbage,” Landor’s attorney Zachary Tripp told the justices.
Louisiana acknowledged the prison guards’ treatment was “antithetical to religious freedom” and has since amended its grooming policy.
The state maintains federal law prohibits monetary damages against state officials sued in their individual capacity.
Conservative justices appeared receptive to Louisiana’s argument during Monday’s hearing.
Landor was serving the final three weeks of a five-month drug possession sentence in 2020 when guards cut his hair.
He had presented prison officials with a 2017 court ruling protecting Rastafarians’ right to maintain dreadlocks for religious reasons.
A guard discarded the document before handcuffing Landor to a chair and shaving his head, according to court records.
An appeals court condemned the “egregious” treatment but ruled Landor cannot sue individual prison officials for damages.
Rastafarians grow their hair into dreadlocks as part of religious practice originating in Jamaica.
The case has drawn support from both liberal and conservative legal advocates.
The conservative-majority court typically opposes damages against government officials but often sides with religious liberty plaintiffs. – AFP
