Top US court takes case of Rastafarian whose hair was cut in prison
The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of a devout Rastafarian whose knee-length dreadlocks were forcibly cut while he was in prison in the southern state of Louisiana.
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Damon Landor is seeking permission to sue individual officials of the Louisiana Department of Corrections for monetary damages for violating his religious rights.
Landor, who had been growing his hair for nearly two decades, was serving the final three weeks of a five-month sentence for drug possession in 2020 when his hair was cut.
Landor presented prison guards with a copy of a 2017 court ruling stating that Rastafarians should be allowed to keep their dreadlocks in line with their religious beliefs.
A prison guard threw the document away and Landor was handcuffed to a chair and had his head shaved, according to court records.
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An appeal court condemned Landor's 'egregious' treatment but ruled that he is not eligible to sue individual prison officials for damages.
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