Supreme Court Bars Lawsuit by Former Inmate Over Religious Rights Violation

The Supreme Court has blocked an attempt by Damon Landor, a former Louisiana inmate, to sue prison officials for cutting his dreadlocks, which went against his Rastafari religious beliefs. Despite expressing disapproval over the incident, the Court ruled that a federal law does not allow lawsuits seeking financial damages against individuals, even when religious rights are breached.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court supported lower courts on the interpretation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The act does not provide for financial accountability for those who violate inmates’ religious rights. The Court’s ruling did not extend the rationale from a 2020 decision, which permitted Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a related statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Justice Department, having previously opposed plaintiffs in the no-fly list case during President Trump’s first administration, sided with Landor in this instance. Justice Neil Gorsuch affirmed that the law concerning prisoners’ religious rights does not authorize suits against individual officers. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning that state prison officials might lack motivation to comply with federal law, as indicated by the real-life incident involving Landor. Her dissent was joined by two other liberal justices.

During Landor’s five-month imprisonment in 2020, he carried an appeals court ruling stating that cutting dreadlocks of religious prisoners violates federal law. Initially respected, his beliefs were disregarded at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in the final weeks of his sentence. There, officials discarded his court ruling copy and forcefully cut his dreadlocks.

Landor filed a lawsuit following his release, yet lower courts dismissed his claims. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized his treatment but stated the law doesn’t hold prison officials financially liable. Louisiana authorities mentioned that they have revised the prison grooming policy to prevent similar incidents.

The Rastafari faith originated in 1930s Jamaica as a response to colonial oppression, mixing Old Testament teachings with a longing to return to Africa. The movement gained global recognition in the 1970s through the music of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, prominent advocates of the faith.