Conditions of Incarceration

Prisoners’ Rights to Humane Conditions of Confinement

While jails, prisons, half-way houses and community corrections centers are certainly not meant to be vacation resorts, they should not be maintained in a manner that violates prisoners’ rights to be housed in safe and sanitary residences. Many prisons do not meet generally accepted standards of living in the United States. Many prisons have serious infestation problems, are dirty, filled to capacity (and sometimes over-capacity), do not have properly functioning plumbing or air ventilation systems, and are generally uncomfortable living quarters.

The Constitution does not provide inmates with the right to comfortable living standards, however it does grant inmates the freedom from conditions that violate their basic human needs. For pre-trial detainees, this right is protected under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. For convicted inmates, the 8th Amendment, which grants inmates the right to be free from ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ protects inmates’ right to be housed under humane living conditions. The types of issues connected with the condition of an inmate’s confinement include: number of inmates housed in one cell, access to functioning toilets and showers, cell temperatures, classification systems (the system by which inmates are placed in cells or on tiers with other inmates), presence of rodents or insects, poor medical care or sick call systems, clean laundry, adequate shelter from the elements, sanitation, personal safety, and food. This is only a partial list as many issues may be protected under a prisoners’ right to be housed in safe, clean and secure institutions.

When can you file a lawsuit attacking the conditions of your confinement?
In order to file a lawsuit against the conditions of incarceration you must satisfy four conditions: 1) you must show that the condition in question deprives you and or other inmates of a basic human need; 2) you must prove that officials knew that a certain condition or prison practice deprived or deprives inmates of a basic human need; 3) you must prove that prison officials had a chance to respond or remedy the problem yet failed to respond reasonably; 4) you must prove that the official’s failure to respond reasonably to a problem caused or will cause serious injury.

What constitutes a deprivation of a basic human need?
Though many inmates are believe that their living situations are horrible and unacceptable, unless the conditions in question constitute a deprivation of a basic human need, you will probably not be able to file a ‘conditions’ lawsuit. Or in other words, a condition must be so extreme or bad that it poses a substantial risk of serious harm to an inmate’s health or safety. For example, if a prison has a practice of not screening inmates for weapons before they enter the prison and as a result there are a large amount of weapons brought into the facility that have been used to assault inmates, the condition of not screening inmates for weapons would cause a substantial risk of serious bodily harm to any inmate who could be harmed by such weapons. Or if a certain tier on a facility has no functioning plumbing, yet officials refuse to move inmates housed on that tier thereby forcing them to go for weeks without showers, proper toilets, and sinks, this may constitute deprivation of basic human needs.

What is a serious injury?
This is a complicated issue that is best left for the courts to decide. However, certain injuries are generally not considered ‘sufficiently serious’ by the courts to warrant judicial intervention. They are: emotional injuries unaccompanied by a physical injury, a cut or laceration not requiring stitches, most bruises and bumps or sores. To better understand what injuries are considered serious, inmates should consult their law libraries for either federal case law and or case law pertaining to the state in which they are incarcerated.

When is a prison official informed?
This is one of the most important parts of a conditions lawsuit. Inmates must prove that officials new of a problem or potential problem and then refused to respond to that problem and the officials’ non-response caused an injury. One of the most basic ways to make officials aware of a problem is through the inmate grievance or remedy process. Inmates should consult their case-managers or counselors for information on this procedure in their institution. In most institutions inmates can submit inmate to staff mail as well. Be sure to make copies of anything submitted to corrections officials or ask for receipts when turning in grievances as sometimes memos and grievances can be misplaced and record of an inmate’s correspondence may be lost. Sometimes when the problem is system or institution-wide, it may not be necessary to submit grievances to prove that staff had knowledge of a problem. Still, it is a good idea to write directly to case managers, counselors, assistant wardens and wardens to ensure that they are adequately informed of any potential problems.

For further information about conditions lawsuits or the inmate grievance process, please contact: Philip_Fornaci@washlaw.org or write us directly for assistance.