Gates v. Cook.

• Position: HYGIENE-PRISONER PERSONAL - Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

LAUNDRY

HOUSEKEEPING

RODENTS/PESTS

Gates v. Cook, 376 F.3d 323 (5th Cir. 2004). A death row prisoner brought a suit on behalf of himself and other prisoners confined to death row, alleging that certain conditions of confinement on death row violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The district court found that a number of conditions violated the Eighth Amendment and issued an injunction designed to alleviate the conditions. The defendants appealed. The appeals court affirmed in part and vacated in part. The court held that the prison's accreditation by a national correctional association (American Correctional Association) was not proof that the conditions of confinement did not violate the Eighth Amendment. The court noted that compliance with association standards could be a relevant consideration, but was not evidence of constitutionality. The court did not find a constitutional violation in the condition of the inmate laundry, which required inmates to wash their own clothes with bar soap. The court found an Eighth Amendment violation due to mosquito infestation coupled with insufficient screen gauge, which exacerbated the...