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Alabama only state that used chaining tactics
Alabama was the only state that chained immates to hitching posts and to each other if they stop working or are disruptive (No month and date were found). -
Larry Hope had an argument with another immate
Hope was working in a chain gang near a highway and he got into an argument with another immate. They were sent back to the prison and were handcuffed to a hitching post. Hope was hitched to the hitching post for two hours and he was offered water and bathroom breaks every 15 minutes. His arms were cuffed above his shoulder so when he tried to move his arms, it caused pain. -
Hope was punished even more
Hope was napping on the bus to his worksite but he didn't respond to the guard when the guard told him to wake up. He had a wrestling match with a guard and then other guards handcuffed Hope and brought him back to prison. He was put back on the hitching post and he had to take off his shirt. He was attached for 7 hours while the sun burned him. He was only given water twice and no bathroom breaks during the seven hour period. -
Hope sued for damages
He sues under Rev. Stat. §1979, 42 U. S. C. §1983 against the three guards in the May incident. The case was heard by Magistrate Judge (I don't know the date when he sued but it was in 1995). -
Summary Judgment for the defendants
Hope's case was heard by a local court. A summary of the decision was that the guards had qualified immunity, which means they are protected by the law when they handcuffed Hope. Since Alabama was the only state that still allows people getting handcuffed to a hitching post they were technically protected by the law. -
Eleventh Circuit affirmed qualified immunity judgment for defendants (240 F. 3d 975)
Hope wanted to appeal the decision that the guards had immunity. The Eleventh Circuit in Alabama affirmed that the defendants (the prison guards) had qualifed immunity. -
Supreme Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and ruling on qualified immunity for the defendants.
Justice John Paul Stevens delivered the verdict. It was 6 for Hope and 3 against. The Court said that there can't be qualified immunity because it obviously violated the 8th amendment. -
Hope doesn't get any money
Hope didn't win any money through the case because there wasn't enough evidence of the damages that the guards did. Alabama changed its law on chaining people to hitching post by getting rid of it. (There is no exact day but the month and year is correct).
