(RNS) — On May 3, a Rastafarian serving a five-month sentence in in a Louisiana state prison filed a Supreme Court petition to seek damages after his jailers cut his dreadlocks, a hairstyle he said he wore for religious reasons.Damon Landor, who is backed in the case by a broad range of faith organizations, argues the prison infringed on his religious rights.
At stake is not only Landor’s right to grow his hair, but a provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which governs such regulations, regarding the payment of damages in cases of violation. Currently, prisons officials aren’t bound to pay damages under the RLUIPA
“Without damages, this law provides no real protection, and members of minority faiths in particular are exposed to serious abuse,” said Zack Tripp, an attorney for Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the firm representing Landor.
Damon Landor with long hair prior to his incarceration. (Photo courtesy of Weil, Gotshal & Manges)
Landor’s legal team hopes to set a precedent for all prisoners seeking damages under the law, known as RLUIPA, and spark discussions on the need for prisons to protect minority-faith prisoners more actively. According to a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report titled “Enforcing Religious Freedom in Prison,” non-Christian prisoners are more likely than others to file complaints related to religious liberty.
In 2020, Landor was admitted to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, for drug possession and was informed that his head would be shorn to comply with the Louisiana Department of Corrections’ grooming policy.
At the time, Landor couldn’t present documentation issued by a judge proving he wore his locks for religious reasons. But according to his legal complaint, he presented a copy of a 2017 decision prohibiting the state’s Department of Corrections from cutting the locks of Rastafarian prisoners.
That decision, by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, found in favor of another Rastafarian incarcerated in Louisiana, Christopher Ware, after he sued the state’s Department of Corrections over its grooming policy.
Landor was nonetheless shackled to a table as prison officials cut his waist-length locks, which he been growing for about 20 years. In imitation of Samson, a figure in the Bible’s Book of Judges, Landor never cu …
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At stake is not only Landor’s right to grow his hair, but a provision of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which governs such regulations, regarding the payment of damages in cases of violation. Currently, prisons officials aren’t bound to pay damages under the RLUIPA
“Without damages, this law provides no real protection, and members of minority faiths in particular are exposed to serious abuse,” said Zack Tripp, an attorney for Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the firm representing Landor.
Damon Landor with long hair prior to his incarceration. (Photo courtesy of Weil, Gotshal & Manges)
Landor’s legal team hopes to set a precedent for all prisoners seeking damages under the law, known as RLUIPA, and spark discussions on the need for prisons to protect minority-faith prisoners more actively. According to a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report titled “Enforcing Religious Freedom in Prison,” non-Christian prisoners are more likely than others to file complaints related to religious liberty.
In 2020, Landor was admitted to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, for drug possession and was informed that his head would be shorn to comply with the Louisiana Department of Corrections’ grooming policy.
At the time, Landor couldn’t present documentation issued by a judge proving he wore his locks for religious reasons. But according to his legal complaint, he presented a copy of a 2017 decision prohibiting the state’s Department of Corrections from cutting the locks of Rastafarian prisoners.
That decision, by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, found in favor of another Rastafarian incarcerated in Louisiana, Christopher Ware, after he sued the state’s Department of Corrections over its grooming policy.
Landor was nonetheless shackled to a table as prison officials cut his waist-length locks, which he been growing for about 20 years. In imitation of Samson, a figure in the Bible’s Book of Judges, Landor never cu …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]