(University of Oregon School of Law, 2020-01-18) Godfrey, Nicole B.
Prisoners seeking judicial intervention to stop subjugation to cruel conditions must meet an exacting Eighth Amendment test. The prisoner must prove that the condition is “sufficiently serious” and that prison officials exhibit “deliberate indifference” in exposing the prisoner to that condition. For prisoners seeking injunctive relief, the proof necessary to meet the second prong of this analysis—the deliberate indifference prong—is hopelessly unclear. This Article proposes three specific types of proof courts should accept as evidence of institutional indifference in Eighth Amendment cases for injunctive relief.
