NCJ Number
154090
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 75 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1995) Pages: 69-89
Date Published
1995
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the civil liability imposed on prison officials as a result of inmate-on-inmate assaults in correctional institutions, based on the 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Farmer v. Brennan.
Abstract
In this decision, the Court ruled that inmates' Eighth Amendment rights are violated when they suffer unnecessary and wanton pain; the Court also attempted to define deliberate indifference as the standard used in these assault cases. In an analysis of 96 pre-Farmer cases, this article divided the case law into three categories: classification and identification of violent offenders, intervention behavior of prison officials in inmate assaults, and availability and source of weapons used in inmate assaults. The Farmer decision was significant because it eliminated ambiguity as to when prison officials can be successfully sued for inmate-on-inmate assault. While the Court's definition of deliberate indifference will make it difficult for prisoner plaintiffs to win their suits, the key to avoiding liability is for prison personnel to act reasonably in the face of known and substantial serious risks. 1 table, 19 notes, and 38 references