WASHINGTON – While seemingly sympathetic to a Louisiana inmate having his dreadlocks shaved off against his religious beliefs, conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices asked questions that hinted they were skeptical he could sue the government to be compensated.

A devout Rastafarian, Damon Landor had followed dictates of the religion and grown his hair for 20 years without cutting it.

Three weeks before the end of his five-month drug-related sentence in 2020, Landor was transferred to the Raymond LaBorde Correctional Institution in Avoyelles Parish. The two previous facilities had not cut his hair. But on orders of the warden, guards held Landor down and shaved his head.

The case isn’t about whether Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials mistreated Landor. Fede

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