760
Thomas, J., dissenting
ante, at 745. In any event, an extraordinarily well-informed prison guard in 1995, who had read both the Justice Depart-ment's report and Federal District Court decisions addressing the use of the restraining bar, could have concluded only that there was a dispute as to whether handcuffing a prisoner to a restraining bar constituted an Eighth Amendment violation, not that such a practice was clearly unconstitutional.
The ADOC regulation relied upon by the Court not only fails to provide support for its holding today; the regulation weighs in respondents' favor because it expressly authorized prison guards to affix prisoners to a restraining bar when they were "disruptive to the work squad." App. 102. Alabama prison guards were entitled to rely on the validity of a duly promulgated state regulation instructing them to attach prisoners to a restraining bar under specified circumstances. See Wilson v. Layne, 526 U. S. 603, 617 (1999) (crediting officer's reliance on Marshals Service policy as "important" to the conclusion that qualified immunity was warranted in an area where the state of the law "was at best undeveloped"). And, as the Court recounts, petitioner was placed on the restraining bar after entering into an argument with another inmate while on work duty (May 11) and a wrestling match with a guard when arriving at his work site (June 7). Ante, at 734.
The Court argues that respondents must have been "aware of the wrongful character of their conduct" because they did not precisely abide by the policy set forth in the ADOC regulation. Ante, at 744. Even taking petitioner's allegations as true, however, I am at a loss to understand how respondents failed to comply with the regulation. With respect to respondents McClaran and Pelzer, who were involved only in the May 11 incident, the Court concedes that the required activity log was filled out on that date, and petitioner was offered water and bathroom breaks every 15 minutes. Ante, at 734, 744. With respect to respondent Gates, the Court complains that no such log exists for petitioner's
Page: Index Previous 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007