Why Native American Inmates Can’t Wear Their Hair Long in Alabama

At The Atlantic, Marina Koren reports, “The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider a case from Native American inmates in Alabama prisons who want to wear their hair long in accordance with their religious beliefs and tradition.” Although many other states offer religious exemptions, the decision means that the state government cannot force Alabama to observe the same policy. “Allowing male inmates to wear long hair carries with it established costs and risks, and the RLUIPA does not require the ADOC to embrace them merely because other institutions have,” the Eleventh Circuit ruled.

Read at The Atlantic

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