Beal v. Foster, No. 14-2489 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseAn inmate of a Wisconsin state prison filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that Schneider, a guard, had inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on him. The district court dismissed the complaint at “screening,” 28 U.S.C. 1915A, before any response by the defendants. The magistrate stated that “standing alone, verbal harassment of an inmate does not constitute a constitutional violation.” The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded, stating that attempting to draw a categorical distinction between verbal and physical harassment is arbitrary. The alleged pain sufficient to constitute cruel punishment may be physical or psychological. While most verbal harassment by jail or prison guards does not rise to the level of cruel and unusual punishment, some does.
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