June 30, 2010
Source: Belief Net
Wire Service: AP
https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/news/2010/06/48-va-inmates-in-segregation-o
Nearly 50 Virginia prisoners are being held in perpetual isolation because they refuse to cut their hair, several for religious reasons.
The Associated Press reported in May that 10 Rastafarian inmates had been in segregation for more than 10 years for refusing to comply with the state's grooming policy, which calls for hair to be kept above the shirt collar and bans beards. The Department of Corrections confirmed the status of those inmates then, but wouldn't reveal how many others were being segregated for not cutting their hair.