Diaz v. Davidson, No. 14-1952 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseWhile he was an inmate, the Pontiac Illinois prison refused to equip Plaintiff with gloves and a hat when he exercised in the prison yard in cold winter weather. His indoor cell was too small for the exercise he needed to prevent his back muscles from atrophying because of arthritis. The refusal was pursuant to a policy that the prison justified on the ground that offenders have placed feces inside gloves and hats and swung them at staff members or offenders from a distance, and have used them to hide dangerous contraband. Plaintiff in discovery requested incident reports to support the justification but was told that the database is searchable only by date of report, so the demand was too burdensome. The district judge agreed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, stating that it is difficult to believe that Pontiac prison has no searchable records of inmates’ assaults on guards and that the defendants should at least be required to present testimony documenting the use of gloves and hats as weapons, but that the suit fails for failure to allege indifference to his need for those items. The court noted that prison personnel had very limited knowledge of Plaintiff’s problem.
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