Withers v. Levine
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
615 F.2d 158 (1980)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
Edward Withers (plaintiff) was a young, slightly built man with a history of being sexually assaulted in various Maryland custodial settings. Withers and other men like him were at high risk of being sexually assaulted again. Withers’s history of being a rape victim was contained in his base file, which accompanied him on any prison transfer. On his most recent transfer to the Maryland House of Corrections, Withers was temporarily placed in a two-man cell that was already occupied by Leon Redd. Redd had a history of violent, aggressive sexual assaults. The cell-assignment officials at the prison were not made aware of Withers’s or Redd’s histories, nor did they consult either inmate’s base file, before placing them together in a cell. Withers was raped by Redd through means of threats and force. Withers sued prison officials (defendants), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The district court made factual findings based on evidence presented about prison conditions and Withers’s background. The court granted the relief requested, ordering prison officials to devise a procedure to reasonably protect inmates from sexual assault. The prison officials appealed, arguing that the risk of sexual assault was not sufficiently pervasive.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Haynsworth, C.J.)
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