Nonilex1d ago

I guess it’s only protected if it’s *their* #religion.

#SCOTUS rules #Rastafari man can’t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks.

#law #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-prison-dreadlocks-rastafari-louisiana-f9b4d53346daee56335185542db3d4ec

Supreme Court rules against Rastafari man in prison dreadlocks case

The Supreme Court has barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. The justices ruled Tuesday against Damon Landor, holding that a federal law designed to protect inmates’ religious rights does not permit lawsuits for money damages. The high court agreed with lower courts that had ruled the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible. The justices declined to adopt the rationale from a 2020 decision that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute.

AP News
Show threadNonilex1d ago

The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal #law designed to protect the #ReligiousRights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for #MoneyDamages even when rights are violated.

#SCOTUS agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act [ #RLUIPA ], can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible.

#FreedomOfReligion #Rastafari

Show threadNonilex1d ago

The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed #Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [ #RFRA ].

The #DOJ, which argued against the plaintiffs in the no-fly list case in #Trump’s first Republican admin, had sided with Landor.

#SCOTUS #law #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion #Rastafari

Show threadNonilex1d ago

No one defended what happened to Landor during his 5-month prison term in 2020. When he entered the prison system, he carried a copy of an appeals court ruling in another inmate’s case holding that cutting #religious prisoners’ dreadlocks violated the #federal #law.

#SCOTUS #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion #Rastafari

Show threadNonilex

At his first 2 stops, ofcls respected his beliefs. But things changed when he got to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, ~80 mi (130 km) NW of Baton Rouge, for the final 3 weeks of his term.

A prison guard took the copy of the ruling Landor carried & tossed it in the trash, acc/to court records. Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While 2 guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, records show.

#SCOTUS #law #FreedomOfReligion #Rastafari

Jun 23 at 3:19pmWeb
Show threadNonilex1d ago

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.

#Louisiana wrote that “the state has amended its prison grooming policy to ensure that nothing like petitioner’s alleged experience can occur.”

#SCOTUS #law #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion #Rastafari

Show threadNonilex1d ago

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.

#SCOTUS #law #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion

Show threadWilliam Heath1d ago
@Nonilex and the most sacred location for Rastafari outside Ethiopia/Eritrea is #FairfieldHouse
Visit if ever you’re in #Bath #England
Also: check out #fairfieldethiojazzproject (Bandcamp, streamers)
Show threadFinchHaven sfba1d ago

@Nonilex

"Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While 2 guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, records show."

Necessary edit:

"Then the warden ordered guards to cut his locks. While 2 guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, records show."

Let's see the #SupremeCourt outcome if a "correctional center" tried cutting the #Sidelocks of an #OrthodoxJew

#SCOTUS #RLUIPA #RFRA #Muslim #Landor #Rastafari