Supreme Court takes up religious claim by Rastafarian whose dreadlocks were cut by prison officials

By Lawrence Hurley, NBC

WASHINGTON — Taking up a new religious rights case, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh a claim for damages brought by a devout Rastafarian whose dreadlocks were cut by Louisiana prison officials against his wishes.

At the time of the incident in 2020, Damon Landor had kept a religious vow not to cut his hair for almost 20 years.

Landor had served all but three weeks of his five-month sentence for a drug-related conviction in Louisiana when he was transferred to the Raymond Laborde Correction Center.

He was holding a copy of a court ruling that made it clear that practicing Rastafarians should be given a religious accommodation allowing them to keep their dreadlocks.

But a prison officer dismissed his concerns, and Landor was handcuffed to a chair while two officers shaved his head.

Upon his release, Landor filed a lawsuit raising various claims, including the one at issue at the Supreme Court, which he brought under a federal law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

At issue is whether people who sue under the statute can win money damages.

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