Whitley v. Albers
- Decided
- March 4, 1986
- Docket
- 84-1077
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 6,155 timesOverruled on other grounds (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: overruled on other grounds, abrogated on other grounds (not yet verified) · (PC) Farha v. Foss
What later courts said
- holding that the “deliberate indifference” standard does not apply in the context of prison security — John McCottrell v. Marcus White (2019)
- holding that substantive due process provides no greater protection to prisoner shot during a prison riot than does the Eighth Amendment — Sandra D. Riley v. Larue T. Camp, Lori Winkler, F.K.A. Lori Webb (1997)
- holding that Eighth Amendment claims based on medical care are governed by different culpability standard than claims involving harm inflicted by officers responding to prison disturbances — (untitled) (1998)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to decide what standard governs a prison inmate’s claim that prison officials subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment by shooting him during the course of their attempt to quell a prison riot.
I — I At the time he was injured, respondent Gerald Albers was confined in cellblock “A” of the Oregon State Penitentiary. Cellblock “A” consists of two tiers of barred cells housing some 200 inmates. The two tiers are connected by a stairway that offers the only practical way to move from one tier to another.
Statutes cited
Cite this
Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312 (1986)Read the full opinion
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