High court dreadlocks ruling bad for inmates of all religions: David Hinds
RASTAFARI
Source: News Nation & Associated Press
A U.S. Supreme Court rulingthat bars a Rastafari man from suing state prison guards for forcibly shaving his dreadlocks strikes a sour note with legendary reggae musician David Hinds, who predicts a potential “domino effect” for other inmates with religious beliefs.
Hinds, a Rastafarian, said the dreadlocks worn by people of his faith are “sacred, spiritual” and an important part of their identity.
“I was appalled when I heard what went down,” the Steel Pulse founder told “Katie Pavlich Tonight” on Tuesday. “I thought it was something that’s out of style as far as how the system treats people along religious lines.”
Justices condemned the way former inmate Damon Landor was treated at Louisiana’s Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in 2020, when two guards restrained him and a third shaved his head to the scalp, the records show.
But in a 6-3 decision, the majority said that a federal statute, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, technically cannot be used to seek financial damages even if someone violates an inmate’s rights.
In the wake of the ruling, Hinds said he can envision other scenarios in which inmates of different religions — such as Sikhs who wear turbans and Muslim women who wear hijabs or burkas — could be similarly mistreated.
“I think it’s probably going to have a domino effect,” he said.
The Rastafari faith is rooted in 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.