The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23 that inmates cannot seek damages if their religious rights have been abused or denied by prison officials. The 6-3 decision along ideological lines came in the case of Damon Landor, a Rastafarian whose…
Religious freedom and dignity for prisoners at US Supreme Court
Religious freedom is for everyone. That’s a promise — as well as a calling for us today — straight out of our country’s flawed but hopeful “history and tradition” that the current U.S. Supreme Court keeps emphasizing. If we want…
Supreme Court hears case of Rastafarian forcibly shaved
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Nov. 10 in a prison abuse case that could affect the religious freedom rights of inmates nationwide. Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections stems from prison guards forcibly shaving a Rastafarian man’s hair…
Landor in Babylon — How a Rastafari’s Case against Prison Injustice Could Be Used to Weaponize ‘Religious Liberty’
Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, a case brought by Damon Landor after officers at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center forcibly shaved off Landor’s dreadlocks despite his Rastafari commitments.