Gullatte v. Potts
| Citation | 654 F.2d 1007 |
| Decision Date | 31 August 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-3469,79-3469 |
| Parties | Evelyn GULLATTE, as Administratrix of the Estate of Robert Gullatte, Jr., Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Tom POTTS, Individually and as Warden of Honor Camp Number Four, et al., Defendants-Appellees, John Edward Nagle, Individually and as Classification Officer of the State of Alabama, Department of Corrections, Defendant-Appellee. . Unit B |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Maye, Melton, Kent & Gunter, Michael I. Kent, Opelika, Ala., for plaintiff-appellant.
Sarah M. Greenhaw, Thomas R. McAlpine, Asst. Attys. Gen., Montgomery, Ala., W. Scears Barnes, Jr., S. Asst. Atty. Gen., Alexandria, Ala., for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
Before DYER, TJOFLAT and FAY, Circuit Judges.
Appellant, Evelyn Gullatte, as Administratrix of the Estate of Robert Gullatte (Gullatte) deceased, sued appellee, John Nagle (Nagle), alleging that Nagle's intentional, wanton, or negligent conduct, resulting in Gullatte's death, was cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment, and thus a violation of the latter's civil rights, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. A hearing was held before a United States Magistrate who, concluding that appellant had failed to prove that Nagle acted intentionally to harm Gullatte, recommended that judgment be entered for appellee. The district court judge, although basing his conclusion on a different legal standard, followed the magistrate's recommendation and dismissed the action. We conclude that, largely as a result of the magistrate's employment of an erroneous legal standard, the findings of fact essential to a proper resolution of this case were not made and, accordingly, we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 1
At the time of his death on June 21, 1975, Gullatte was an inmate of the Alabama Penal System, incarcerated at Holman Prison. A graduate of Auburn University and a licensed pharmacist, Gullatte was serving a six year sentence, as a first offender, for violation of the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substance Act. He was scheduled for parole some four months prior to his murder, but that parole was denied.
In the early part of 1975, Gullatte was a work-release inmate at the Alexander City Work Release Center, a minimum security institution. As a result of Gullatte's dependence on certain nonprescribed sleeping drugs, he was transferred to the Medical and Diagnostic Center of the Alabama Penal Center at Kilby Prison for evaluation. While at Kilby, Gullatte witnessed the mass homosexual rape of his cell mate. At the request of the Board of Corrections investigator, Gullatte gave a statement as to the identity of the perpetrators and agreed to testify at any future disciplinary hearing against them. By so doing, Gullatte became what is known in prison jargon as a "snitch."
On May 29, 1975, Gullatte was reassigned by the Classification Board to Honor Camp Number 4, also a minimum security institution. While at that institution, Gullatte was a source of some irritation to prison officials. Though not a trouble-maker, Gullatte's conduct was a source of some concern. He had difficulty sleeping and wandered through the camp at night, apparently disturbing some of the other prisoners. He was constantly requesting and receiving non-prescription headache medication.
On June 16, 1975, Gullatte was returned to Kilby Prison for reassignment. Though it is standard operating procedure to indicate on a form C-51 the reasons for the transfer of a prisoner, there was no such explanation in this case. It was not until ten days after Gullatte's death that Warden Potts prepared a memorandum, at defendant Nagle's request, offering an explanation for the transfer. The memorandum stated the reason as being Gullatte's request that he be moved to an institution in which he could receive medical attention. That explanation is in total conflict with the magistrate's finding that four days prior to his death, and fourteen days prior to the preparation of the memorandum, Gullatte went to speak with Nagle in order to determine why he was being transferred and to request that he be allowed to stay at another road camp or highway patrol station, neither place in which medical treatment was available.
On June 19, 1975, the Classification Board, consisting of Nagle, 2 Charles Blackledge, and W. S. Furlow, met to discuss Gullatte's transfer. Gullatte was present and again requested that he be sent to a road camp or highway patrol office. Warden Potts, of Honor Camp Number 4, also had recommended that he be transferred to another minimum security prison. Nonetheless, the Board decided to send Gullatte to Fountain Correctional Center. Fountain has both maximum and minimum security units. The magistrate found that at the time of the transfer all the minimum security slots at Fountain were filled.
Shortly after the Board's decision, Nagle met with Isabelle Moore (Moore), a classification officer at Kilby, where Gullatte was then being held. Moore was aware of Gullatte's cooperation in the rape investigation and his resultant "snitch status." She brought this to Nagle's attention and expressed concern that the transfer of Gullatte to a maximum security institution such as Fountain could pose a serious threat to Gullatte's safety. 3 Nagle then authorized Moore to offer Gullatte a choice between being transferred to Fountain or to Holman Prison (Holman), another institution in which prisoners must spend at least an initial period in maximum security. Moore later informed Nagle that, as between Fountain and Holman, Gullatte would prefer Holman. In order to approve the change to Holman, Nagle called Board member Furlow to inform him of Gullatte's selection. Nagle did not tell Furlow that Gullatte was a snitch or that the reason for reconsidering the place of transfer was the possibility that Gullatte's safety could be endangered at certain institutions. Furlow agreed that, on the basis of what he knew, it would be all right to transfer Gullatte to Holman. 4
Gullatte was transferred to Holman on or about June 21, 1975. He was received there as a maximum security prisoner, despite the fact that he was classified as a minimum security prisoner. 5 Gullatte was murdered by other inmates in the maximum security unit the day he was received there.
The action was assigned, without objection, to a United States Magistrate for an evidentiary hearing. The hearing was held, during which witnesses were heard and deposition testimony, as well as other evidence, was admitted. At the close of the hearing the Magistrate made certain findings of fact and conclusions of law and recommended that the case against Nagle be dismissed. 6
In addition to the facts previously recited, the magistrate made several significant findings. The magistrate found
An inmate who cooperates with prison officials in the investigation of prison crimes or violation of prison regulations is known among the inmates as a "snitch" and is highly disfavored among the general inmate population. This cooperation can result in physical danger or harm to an inmate who has become known as a "snitch". This danger may not only be from the perpetrator of the crime but also from the general inmate population. Prison officials are aware of the probability of the danger to an informer or one who cooperates with the prison officials and will usually attempt to place the inmate informer in protective custody or at an institution where the danger is minimized. Protective custody is confinement in an isolation cell in a maximum security facility.
Recommendation of Magistrate at 3-4. The magistrate also found that Gullatte had not expressed fear for his life or safety at anytime, that he had indicated to Moore that he was afraid only of being sent to Fountain, and that he had not provided prison officials with a list of his enemies.
On the basis of the facts established, the magistrate was of the opinion that Nagle had not acted so willfully, wantonly, or intentionally with respect to the decision to transfer Gullatte as to violate section 1983. In reading his opinion, as well as the cases cited therein, it is clear that he would have imposed liability only on proof that Nagle intentionally acted to cause Gullatte's injury. Moreover, after having found that prison officials are aware of the great danger faced by snitches placed in the general prison population, the magistrate concluded, "(t)he fact that Nagle had been with the Classification Office less than a month indicates to the Court that he probably did not have a full appreciation at that time of the imminent danger to an inmate known as a 'snitch' or that a known informer would probably be in grave danger at a major institution like Holman." (emphasis added) Recommendation of Magistrate at 12. The magistrate thus indicates that, while prison officials as a whole appreciate the grave danger to snitches, Nagle probably did not appreciate that danger. What the opinion does not determine, however, is the central fact necessary for a resolution of the legal issue presented; namely, what did Nagle know or what should have Nagle known as to the likelihood of Gullatte being injured at Holman or another major institution.
Subsequent to the magistrate's recommendation, appellant presented to the District Court a list of objections thereto. At the outset the District Court noted that shortly after the magistrate made his recommendation, this Court decided Bogard v. Cook, 586 F.2d 399 (5th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 883, 100 S.Ct. 173, 62 L.Ed.2d 113 (1979). In Bogard we set out the legal standards to be applied to a prisoner's action for monetary relief against state prison officials pursuant to section 1983. Because the legal standard that we established in Bogard...
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