| Docket: 17-14631 Opinion Date: July 24, 2020 Judge: Luck Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law |
| The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff's Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim. In this case, plaintiff, a prisoner, told defendant, a prison official, that another prisoner threatened to kill him. The court held that the reasonableness of a prison official's response to a substantial risk of serious harm depends on the facts the official knew when she learned about the threat. The court explained that sometimes, the facts are so serious and clear that anything less than immediate protective custody for the threatened prisoner would be unreasonable. More often, as here, the court explained that the prison official responds reasonably by taking the time to investigate the threat and look into different options all while making sure the prisoners are being supervised. The court agreed with the district court that, viewing the summary judgment evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, defendant reasonably responded to the other prisoner's threat (even if the harm was ultimately not averted). In this case, defendant was available to talk to plaintiff about the threat and told him she had his back, would investigate the threat, and look into moving the other prisoner. Furthermore, her response was reasonable in light of what she knew about plaintiff and the other inmate, the history of their dispute, and the fact that both plaintiff and the other prisoner were in the "good behavior dorm." |
