23-c-4 Other Environmental Health and Safety Cases

• Library: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

23-C-4. Other Environmental Health and Safety Cases

Other environmental and safety conditions have also been found to violate the Eighth Amendment. Inadequate ventilation and deprivation of outdoor exercise have been found to violate the Eighth Amendment.¹¹⁸ In addition, excessive heat,¹¹⁹ excessive cold,¹²⁰ polluted water,¹²¹ toxic or noxious fumes,¹²² exposure to sewage,¹²³ lack of fire safety,¹²⁴ inadequate food or unsanitary food service,¹²⁵ inadequate lighting or constant lighting,¹²⁶ exposure to insects, rodents and other vermin,¹²⁷ exposure to asbestos,¹²⁸ and exposure to the extreme behavior of severely mentally ill prisoners¹²⁹ have all been found to violate a prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights.

118. Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1090 (9th Cir. 1996) opinion amended on denial of reh'g, 135 F.3d 1318 (9th Cir. 1998) (finding it to be cruel and unusual punishment to deprive a prisoner of outdoor exercise for six months).

119. Gates v. Cook, 376 F.3d 323, 334, 339-40 (5th Cir. 2004) (determining that the probability of heat-related illness is high enough to state an 8th Amendment claim).

120. Gaston v. Coughlin, 249 F.3d 156, 164-66 (2d Cir. 2001) (finding exposure to freezing and sub-zero...