Payne v. Price et al (INMATE 2)

Inmate Larry Payne alleged that on October 1, 2014, while incarcerated in the Alabama Department of Corrections, correctional officers R. Hagler and K. Williams used pepper spray on him without justification, and Warden Cheryl Price approved the use of force. Payne filed a civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, finding no evidence of malicious or sadistic intent and concluding the injury was de minimis. Payne appealed, and on December 13, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision in an unpublished opinion, holding that the use of pepper spray was a reasonable response to Payne's refusal to comply with orders.

The district court's grant of summary judgment was affirmed; the defendants prevailed, and the excessive force claim was dismissed.

Whether the prison officials' use of pepper spray constituted excessive force under the Eighth Amendment, specifically whether the plaintiff must show more than a de minimis injury and whether the defendants acted with malicious or sadistic intent.

The decision reaffirmed the high evidentiary bar for prisoner excessive force claims in the Eleventh Circuit, requiring a showing of serious injury and subjective malicious intent, which continues to limit inmate success in challenging routine uses of chemical agents behind bars.