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Inadequate Prison Security Violates 8th Amendment
Loaded on Feb. 15, 1998
published in Prison Legal News
February, 1998, page 18
Afederal district court in Puerto Rico held a prison security officer could be held liable for a prisoner's murder when he knew of inadequate staff supervision and non functioning cell locks, among other things, and did nothing to improve security. Angel Orta Fernandez, a Puerto Rico prisoner, was killed by …
Filed under:
Crime/Demographics,
Prison/Jail Murders,
Eighth Amendment,
Staffing,
Supervisory Liability,
Premises Liability,
Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
Location:
Puerto Rico.
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More from this issue:
- Juvenile Crime Pays, by Alex Friedmann
- Bureau of Prisons Gag Rule Enacted
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Washington "Bulk Mail" Ban of PLN Struck Down
- Where to Now For Prison Smoking?, by Paul Wright
- Resources for Smoking Litigation: Health Effects of Smoking; Legal Cases on Smoking
- Actual Injury Required in Legal Mail Claim
- KS S.Ct. Affirms Trust Account "Service Fee"
- No Immunity for Delaying Arthritis Treatment
- Deaf Prisoners in Washington Seek Class-Wide Relief, by David C Fathi
- Union Denounces Prison Labor
- Florida PRIDE Employees Denied Minimum Wages, by James Quigley
- PRIDE Eyes Private Markets
- No Immunity for Florida Private Jail
- PLRA Requires Winning Prisoner to Pay 25% of Defendants' Atty Fees
- Exposure to Cold States Claim Exhaustion Requirement of PLRA Not Retroactive
- PLRA Attorney Fee Restrictions Not Retroactive
- WSP Ban on Gift Subscriptions Enjoined
- Trial Required in Oklahoma Beating Case
- News in Brief
- New York Prisoner Settles Excessive Force Case for $25,000
- Legal Papers Must be Returned to Owner; Prisoner Legal Mail Banned
- 7th Circuit Defines "Serious Medical Needs"
- Inadequate Prison Security Violates 8th Amendment
- Damages Suit Stayed While Habeas Pursued in Disciplinary Hearing Challenge
- Idaho Court Access Class Action Suit Proceeds
- Iowa Prison Nurse Liable in Birthing
- West Virginia Prisoners Lose Computers
- Cold Cell Violates 8th Amendment
- Grand Jury Indicts 45 Texas Prisoners
- Rhode Island Ban on Royalties to Felon Authors Struck Down
- Second Circuit Rules on Appointment of Counsel
More from these topics:
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Staff).
- “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, Aug. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Staffing, Assaults on Staff.
- Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Rebellion, Overcrowding, Staffing, Security Systems, Assaults on Staff.
- Oklahoma County Jail Fails 12th Health Inspection, Aug. 1, 2026. Corrections Audits, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Sanitation, Bedding.
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, Aug. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, Aug. 1, 2026. Transfers, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Staffing, Guard Unions.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity.
- Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, Aug. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, Aug. 1, 2026. COVID-19, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Qualified Immunity.
- The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Security Systems, Administrative Detention/Segregation.

