Gibbs v. Franklin

COFFEY, Circuit Judge. This case is before us on remand from the Supreme Court of the United States. On March 18, 1994, this court affirmed the jury verdict in favor of four prison guards sued in their individual capacities by an inmate, Floyd B. Gibbs, who alleged that the guards violated his Eighth Amendment rights when they witnessed Gibbss beating by other inmates but refused to intervene. Gibbs v. Franklin, 18 F.3d 521 (7th Cir. 1994). On June 6, 1994, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. , 114 S. Ct. 1970, 128 L. Ed. 2d 811 (1994), holding that "a prison official may be held liable under the Eighth Amendment for denying humane conditions of confinement only if he knows that inmates face a substantial risk of serious harm and disregards that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to abate it." Farmer, 114 S. Ct. at 1984. On October 11, 1994, the Supreme Court vacated this courts March 18, 1994 judgment and opinion in Gibbs and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Farmer. Gibbs v. Franklin, 115 S. Ct. 307, 130 L. Ed. 2d 271 (1994). After the parties filed a Joint Statement of Position pursuant to Circuit Rule 54, this court requested and received supplemental briefs from both parties. We have reviewed the Supreme Courts decision in Farmer as well as the supplemental briefs, and conclude that our original judgment and opinion are consistent with the principles announced in Farmer.