Landor v. Louisiana Dept of Corrections and Public Safety · ¶56

Damon Landor’s Rastafarian faith requires him to “let the locks of the hair of his head grow.” The Holy Bible, Numbers 6:5 (King James Version). For a Rastafari like Landor, locks are “the physical embodiment of . . . spiritual identity and connection to God.” See Brief for Rastafari Scholars as Amici Curiae 3. Landor preserved this connection—through what is known as the Nazarite Vow— for two decades, allowing his hair to grow to his knees. And he continued for most of a brief stint in Louisiana jails in 2020: At the two facilities that housed Landor for the bulk of his prison time, officials accommodated his vow without incident.

slip opinion, revised 6/28/26
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