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2mo ago

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Rastafarian Prisoner’s Damages Claim

The court will decide whether RLUIPA permits inmates to seek damages from individual officials in a case where Louisiana has overhauled its grooming rules following acknowledgment of mistreatment.

Louisiana Department of Corrections
Rastafarian Damon Landor before and after having his dreadlocks shaved off at Raymond Laborde Correction Center in Louisiana.
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024.
People gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo

Overview

  • Damon Landor, a devout Rastafarian, had his nearly 20-year-old dreadlocks forcibly shaved by Louisiana prison guards in 2020 despite presenting a 2017 appeals court ruling protecting his religious practice.
  • A federal judge and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals condemned the shaving but ruled that RLUIPA does not authorize monetary damages against individual officials.
  • Landor’s legal team and the Trump administration argue that RLUIPA’s text mirrors the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, under which the Supreme Court in 2020 allowed damages claims.
  • Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill acknowledged the mistreatment and amended the state prison grooming policy to prevent future violations of Rastafarian inmates’ rights.
  • Oral arguments are scheduled for the Supreme Court’s next term beginning in October, with a decision on the availability of money damages expected by June 2026.