Opinion ID: 2721335
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eighth Amendment Excessive-Force Claim

Text: The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “governs prison officials’ use of force against convicted inmates.” Campbell v. Sikes, 169 F.3d 1353, 1374 (11th Cir. 1999). Under the Eighth Amendment, force is deemed legitimate in a custodial setting as long as it is “applied in a good faith effort to maintain or restore discipline [and not] maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of 10 Case: 13-11402 Date Filed: 08/27/2014 Page: 11 of 14 causing harm.” Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 320–21, 106 S. Ct. 1078, 1085 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted). Factors relevant to ascertaining whether force was used “maliciously and sadistically” for the purpose of causing harm include the following: (1) the extent of injury; (2) the need for application of force; (3) the relationship between that need and the amount of force used; (4) any efforts made to temper the severity of a forceful response; and (5) the extent of the threat to the safety of staff and inmates, as reasonably perceived by the responsible officials on the basis of facts known to them. Campbell, 169 F.3d at 1375 (internal quotation marks omitted). When considering these factors, we give “a wide range of deference to prison officials acting to preserve discipline and security, including when considering decisions made at the scene of a disturbance.” Fennell v. Gilstrap, 559 F.3d 1212, 1217 (11th Cir. 2009) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks omitted). A prisoner may avoid summary judgment, “only if the evidence viewed in the light most favorable to him goes beyond a mere dispute over the reasonableness of the force used and will support a reliable inference of wantonness in the infliction of pain.” Brown v. Smith, 813