In a case that may reshape how religious liberty is protected behind bars, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will take up the appeal of Damon Landor, a former Louisiana inmate who says his Rastafari faith was violated when prison guards forcibly shaved off his dreadlocks.
At the heart of the dispute is whether Landor can sue for money damages under a federal statute designed to safeguard prisoners’ religious rights, according to the Associated Press.
A lower court had previously ruled against him — even while acknowledging the gravity of his experience.
Landor, who follows the Rastafari religion and had avoided cutting his hair for nearly 20 years, brought with him to prison a legal ruling affirming the right of religious inmates to keep their dreadlocks. That document was discarded by a guard, according to court filings.
At the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center, his final stop during a five-month sentence in 2020, guards held him down while one shaved his head clean, allegedly on orders from the warden.
Though his earlier placements in the prison system respected his religious grooming practices, Landor’s experience in Cottonport marked a jarring shift.
After his release, he filed suit — but his case was dismissed, with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determining that existing law did not permit financial damages in such cases. Still, the court expressed concern over what Landor endured.
His legal team points to a 2021 Supreme Court decision permitting Muslim men to seek damages over being placed on the federal no-fly list — arguing that the same logic should apply under a related statute, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
In a twist, the Trump administration at the time submitted a brief in support of Landor’s right to sue, urging the high court to take up the case.
Meanwhile, Louisiana’s lawyers conceded Landor’s experience was unjust, but asked the justices to reject the appeal. They noted the state has since revised its prison grooming policies to prevent similar incidents.
The cultural and spiritual roots of the Rastafari faith stretch back to 1930s Jamaica, grounded in Old Testament teachings and a movement of Black empowerment and repatriation to Africa.
Popularized globally through the music of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, it holds spiritual significance in long hair and dreadlocks.
Arguments in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections (23-1197) will be heard this fall, in a case that could redefine the balance between institutional authority and religious freedom in America’s correctional system.
