Corrections Department settles lawsuit with ACLU over cutting of inmate’s dreadlocks
The Kentucky Department of Corrections has settled a lawsuit and changed its policy on hairstyles in prisons in response to an inmate who said his dreadlocks, which he wore for religious reasons, were forcibly cut.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced Tuesday that the lawsuit it filed last year in federal court on behalf of Carlos Thurman had been settled.
Thurman said in the suit that he is a Rastafarian and had been growing his hair in dreadlocks for about two years when staff at Northpoint Training Center in Burgin forcibly cut his hair in the process of transferring him to another facility.
Before his hair was cut, Thurman had filed grievances over the prison’s “searchable hair” policy, saying it violated inmates’ constitutional rights and was racially discriminatory.
Thurman alleged in the suit that no attempt was made to search his dreadlocks for contraband before they were cut off and placed in a bag, and he alleged that his transfer was a retaliatory move because he had filed grievances.
In answering the lawsuit, the corrections department staff had denied retaliating against Thurman and claimed immunity.
“Prison policies may not infringe on sincerely held religious beliefs unless it can be shown that it’s the least restrictive means possible,” Heather Gatnarek, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a news release. “We and our client are pleased with the details of the settlement, particularly the policy changes put in place because of our legal action. No one should be subject to the complete disregard of their freedom of religion.”
The ACLU said the new policy includes “more detail about the types of hairstyles allowed in detention facilities. It expressly creates the opportunity to claim a religious exemption to grooming standards and details the ways hair may be searched, up to and including the use of hand-held metal detectors and body scanners.
“The new policy also explicitly limits when hair may be forcibly cut. The only acceptable circumstances are when an incarcerated person has refused to submit to a reasonable search of the hair, or if a medical provider has determined that a health condition exists that creates a safety or security risk.”
A corrections department spokeswoman said the department is committed both to keeping prisons safe and protecting inmates’ rights.
“The Department of Corrections respects the rights of those in its custody to exercise their genuinely held religious beliefs,” Lisa Lamb, Deputy Commissioner of Community Services and Local Facilities for the Department of Corrections, said in a statement. “DOC is charged with protecting both the rights of our inmates and maintaining the safety and security of our adult correctional institutions, and will continue to act consistently with those principles.”
