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2w ago

Supreme Court to Decide If Prisoner Can Seek Damages for Forced Dreadlock Shaving

The court will decide if RLUIPA empowers Damon Landor to seek money damages from Louisiana prison officials for violating his religious hair practices.

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
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Overview

  • Damon Landor, a devoted Rastafarian, upheld a vow to grow his dreadlocks for nearly 20 years before his 2020 incarceration for drug possession in Louisiana.
  • After his transfer to Raymond Laborde Correctional Center, guards discarded a 2017 appeals ruling protecting his hairstyle and forcibly shaved his hair while he was restrained.
  • Federal and Fifth Circuit courts affirmed that RLUIPA does not allow individual state officials to be sued for damages, even as they condemned his treatment and noted Louisiana’s revised grooming policy.
  • More than 30 interfaith organizations and the Justice Department backed Landor’s petition, citing a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that permitted damages under the similarly worded RFRA.
  • Oral arguments in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections are scheduled for the term beginning October 2025, with a decision expected by summer 2026.