Supreme Court Will Hear Case Of Rastafarian Whose Dreadlocks Were Shaved By Louisiana Prison Guards
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the appeal of a former Louisiana prison inmate whose dreadlocks were cut off by prison guards in violation of his religious beliefs.
The justices will review an appellate ruling that held that the former inmate, Damon Landor, could not sue prison officials for money damages under a federal law aimed at protecting prisoners' religious rights. Landor, an adherent of the Rastafari religion, even carried a copy of a ruling by the appeals court in another inmate's case holding that cutting religious prisoners' dreadlocks violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Landor hadn't cut his hair in nearly two decades when he entered Louisiana's prison system in 2020 on a five-month sentence. At his first two stops, officials respected his beliefs. But things changed when he got to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, for the final three weeks of his term. A prison guard took the copy of the ruling Landor carried and tossed it in the trash, according to court records. Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While two guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, the records show.
Landor sued after his release, but lower courts dismissed the case. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals lamented Landor's treatment but said the law doesn't allow him to hold prison officials liable for damages. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the fall. Landor's lawyers argue that the court should be guided by its 2021 decision allowing Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI's no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. President Donald Trump's Republican administration filed a brief supporting Landor's right to sue and urged the court to hear the case. Louisiana asked the justices to reject the appeal, even as it acknowledged Landor's mistreatment. Lawyers for the state wrote that the state has amended its prison grooming policy to 'ensure that nothing like petitioner's alleged experience can occur.'
The Rastafari faith is rooted in 1930s Jamaica, growing as a response by Black people to white colonial oppression. Its beliefs are a melding of Old Testament teachings and a desire to return to Africa. Its message was spread across the world in the 1970s by Jamaican music icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, two of the faith's most famous exponents.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
New York governor seeks to build the state's first new nuclear power plant in decades
New York's governor on Monday proposed the construction of the state's first new nuclear power plant in decades. Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the state's power authority to develop an advanced zero-emission facility in upstate New York that she hopes will help create a clean, reliable, and affordable electric grid for the state. She said the state power authority will seek to develop at least one new nuclear energy facility with a combined capacity of no less than one gigawatt of electricity. That would increase the state's total nuclear capacity to about 4.3 gigawatts. The Democrat said the state needs to secure its energy independence if it wants to continue to attract large manufacturers that create good-paying jobs as it deactivates aging fossil fuel power plants. 'We're going to get it done,' Hochul said, speaking at the Niagara County Power Project in Lewiston. 'This historic initiative will lay the foundation for the next generation of prosperity.' The governor said the state hasn't decided on a potential location but that upstate communities appear receptive given the potential for creating 1,600 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs once the facility is operational. 'Everybody is raising their hand right now,' Hochul said. 'It's going to be hard to decide.' Among those likely in the running is the Nine Mile Point nuclear plant in Oswego. Hochul's administration has been supportive of Maryland power company Constellation's bid to build a new nuclear reactor at the two-reactor facility. American utilities have been broadly reluctant to launch new nuclear plants due to high cost overruns and delays on recent high-profile projects. Georgia Power Company completed the first two new nuclear reactors in the country in a generation last year. But Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, cost nearly 35 billion dollars and were powered up some seven years later than initially hoped. Last month the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power company, applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop what it bills as a next-generation nuclear power plant at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge. The federally owned utility provides electricity to seven states and operates three traditional large nuclear power plants, providing about forty percent of the Tennessee Valley's power. New York currently has three active nuclear plants, all located upstate along Lake Ontario and owned by Constellation. The Nine Mile Point, Robert Emmett Ginna, and James A. FitzPatrick plants provide about 3.3 gigawatts of power, or roughly twenty percent of the state's electricity, according to Hochul's office. The last nuclear power plant built in the state was Unit 2 at Nine Mile Point in 1989. At its peak, nuclear power provided about 5.4 gigawatts, or roughly one-third of the state's electrical supply, according to the advocacy group Nuclear New York. The New York Power Authority previously operated two nuclear plants, including the Indian Point Power Plant, which shut down in 2021. That facility was located along the Hudson River some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of New York City in Buchanan. The other facility once operated by the state was the FitzPatrick plant, which the power authority sold in 2000 and is now run by Constellation.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Supreme Court Will Hear Case Of Rastafarian Whose Dreadlocks Were Shaved By Louisiana Prison Guards
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the appeal of a former Louisiana prison inmate whose dreadlocks were cut off by prison guards in violation of his religious beliefs. The justices will review an appellate ruling that held that the former inmate, Damon Landor, could not sue prison officials for money damages under a federal law aimed at protecting prisoners' religious rights. Landor, an adherent of the Rastafari religion, even carried a copy of a ruling by the appeals court in another inmate's case holding that cutting religious prisoners' dreadlocks violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Landor hadn't cut his hair in nearly two decades when he entered Louisiana's prison system in 2020 on a five-month sentence. At his first two stops, officials respected his beliefs. But things changed when he got to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, for the final three weeks of his term. A prison guard took the copy of the ruling Landor carried and tossed it in the trash, according to court records. Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While two guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, the records show. Landor sued after his release, but lower courts dismissed the case. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals lamented Landor's treatment but said the law doesn't allow him to hold prison officials liable for damages. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the fall. Landor's lawyers argue that the court should be guided by its 2021 decision allowing Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI's no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. President Donald Trump's Republican administration filed a brief supporting Landor's right to sue and urged the court to hear the case. Louisiana asked the justices to reject the appeal, even as it acknowledged Landor's mistreatment. Lawyers for the state wrote that the state has amended its prison grooming policy to 'ensure that nothing like petitioner's alleged experience can occur.' The Rastafari faith is rooted in 1930s Jamaica, growing as a response by Black people to white colonial oppression. Its beliefs are a melding of Old Testament teachings and a desire to return to Africa. Its message was spread across the world in the 1970s by Jamaican music icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, two of the faith's most famous exponents.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US strikes on Iran did not violate international law, NATO's Rutte says
US strikes on Iran over the weekend did not violate international law, NATO chief Mark Rutte told reporters on Monday ahead of a summit for the military alliance.
