Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

January 26, 2023

Protecting the Religious Rights of Inmates Has Implications beyond the Prison Walls

The law as written is unenforceable.

In 2021, Damon Landor was nearing the end of a sentence for drug possession when prison officials forcibly shaved his head, despite his protests that to do so would violate his religious beliefs as a Rastafarian. Although the law—which could be applied just as easily to observant Jewish convicts—appears to be on his side, as written it is virtually unenforceable. Bobby Miller describes two lawyers’ efforts to change that:

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