Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a landmark case that could redefine the religious rights of prisoners across the country. At the center of the case is Damon Landor, a former Louisiana inmate and devoted Rastafarian, who says prison officials forcibly shaved his dreadlocks in direct violation of his faith.
Landor had not cut his hair in nearly 20 years when he entered the Louisiana prison system in 2020 to serve a five-month sentence. For most of his incarceration, prison officials respected his religious beliefs. But that changed when he was transferred to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport for the final weeks of his term.
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According to court records, Landor carried a copy of a prior appellate ruling affirming the right of religious prisoners to keep their dreadlocks. A prison guard reportedly seized the document and threw it away. Soon after, the warden ordered Landor’s hair to be cut. Guards restrained him as his dreadlocks were shaved to the scalp.
After his release, Landor sued for damages, arguing that his religious rights had been violated under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Lower courts dismissed his case, with the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledging the violation but ruling that the law does not allow inmates to seek monetary compensation for such infringements.
Now, the Supreme Court will weigh whether prisoners like Landor can hold officials financially accountable when their religious freedoms are violated. His attorneys are urging the justices to follow their 2021 decision that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list, under a related law — the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Trump administration had previously backed the right to sue in comparable cases and encouraged the high court to hear them. Louisiana, while conceding that Landor was mistreated, has asked the justices to dismiss the appeal, citing new prison grooming policies designed to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Beyond the legal battle, the case strikes at the heart of Rastafarian identity. Originating in 1930s Jamaica as a spiritual and cultural resistance to colonial rule, Rastafari is deeply connected to the wearing of dreadlocks — a sacred symbol of the faith’s teachings and its African roots. The movement was propelled onto the world stage by reggae legends like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, who carried the message of Rastafari through music and activism.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the fall. The ruling could set a significant national precedent for the protection of religious expression behind bars.
The case is Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, 23-1197.
