cruel-unusual-punishment

48 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6447 Torrence Belcher v. Joshua Wallen, et al. Seventh Circuit 2025-12-30 Pending Response WaivedIFP cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference eighth-amendment inmate-rights physical-injury prison-safety Whether a prison official's deliberate indifference to an inmate's safety constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel …
25-6230 McKinley Kelly v. Indiana Indiana 2025-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment rehabilitation sentencing-procedure Whether Indiana's sentencing procedure for Kelly violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendm…
25-6120 In Re Steven Michael Backstrom 2025-11-14 Dismissed IFP cruel-unusual-punishment due-process fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance trial-counsel Does a failure by trial counsel to investigate known-to-be material facts constitute ineffective assistance of counsel, and would material misrepresen…
25-5370 Kayle B. Bates v. Florida, et al. Florida 2025-08-14 Denied IFP constitutional-violation cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty ineffective-assistance neuropsychological-evidence sentencing-procedure Whether a state can execute a defendant without considering compelling neuropsychological evidence and despite potential constitutional violations in …
25-5129 Byron Lewis Black v. Tennessee Tennessee 2025-07-16 Denied IFP common-law-prohibition competency-to-execute cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment ford-standard mental-incompetency Whether a state may refuse to provide a process by which a state inmate may prove that he is not competent to be executed because he meets the common …
24-7259 In Re Kenja Omari Deangelo Carmichael 2025-05-21 Denied IFP civil-commitment constitutional-violation cruel-unusual-punishment due-process mental-health-examination prisoner-rights Whether a prisoner can be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment through continuous harassment and torture by prison staff, and whether civil commi…
24-6803 Vincent Giattino v. United States Second Circuit 2025-03-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-unusual-punishment due-process plea-deal sentencing-relief sixth-amendment trial-penalty Whether the lower courts erred in not finding an 'extraordinary reason' for sentencing relief under 18 U.S.C. Section 3582 based on an alleged unconst…
24-6748 Clifford Charles Galley, II v. Colorado Colorado 2025-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP consecutive-sentences constitutional-proportionality cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment life-without-parole sentencing Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment requires consideration of aggregate, consecutive sentences amounting t…
24-928 Zackery Terrell v. Texas Texas 2025-02-26 Denied Response Waived constitutional-rights cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance sixth-amendment suggestion-of-reconsideration Whether the denial of the Applicant's Suggestion of Reconsideration violates the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment and …
24-6356 RonAllen Hardy v. Tennessee Tennessee 2025-01-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP brain-development cognitive-maturity cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing miller-principles Whether sentencing a young adult to life without parole violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when the offe…
24-167 Tim Makoto Nukida v. California California 2024-08-15 Denied criminal-procedure cruel-unusual-punishment csaas-testimony due-process eighth-amendment expert-witness Whether state courts are divided on the admissibility of Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS) and if such testimony violates due process …
24-74 In Re Alphonza Leonard Phillip Thomas Bey 2024-07-25 Denied Relisted (2) 14th-amendment 8th-amendment black-negro-colored-persons constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment jurisdiction property state-court Question not identified.
23-7500 Jonathan Pendleton v. Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, et al. Fourth Circuit 2024-05-17 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference due-process equal-protection habeas-corpus ngri-statute Whether and to what extent Virginia's 'not guilty by reason of insanity' (NGRI) statutes are unconstitutional
23-5571 Deon Jefferson Johnson v. Mike Brown, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-09-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process fair-trial habeas-corpus habitual-offender jury-trial sentencing-guidelines Whether the petitioner was denied his constitutional rights to a fair and impartial jury trial, due process of law, and to be free from cruel and unus…
23-5485 Paul M. Poupart v. Louisiana Louisiana 2023-08-30 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment 8th-amendment constitutional-challenge cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment fraud-upon-court fraud-upon-the-court statute-validity Whether LSA-R.S. 15:529.1 is unconstitutional
22-7618 Dennis Dewayne Jackson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-05-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment first-time-offender non-violent-offense non-violent-offenses procedural-reasonableness sentencing-guidelines whether-the-sentence-of-138-months'-imprisonment-imposed-on-a-first-time-offender-violated-the-eighth-amendment-prohibition-against-cruel-and-unusual-…
22-7366 Donald Joshua Smith v. Omoniyi Akintola Ninth Circuit 2023-04-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-violation cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference due-process inadequate-care medical-malpractice medical-negligence toxic-exposure Why was Akintola not held medically responsible for examining, diagnosing, and treating plaintiff's medical conditions?
22-6937 Robert L. Davis v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-03-06 Dismissed Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment 28-usc-1915 access-to-courts civil-rights court-access cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment first-amendment pro-se-litigant redress Does a lifetime ban to courts under 28 U.S.C. §1915(g) unless one pays in full deny due process violating the 14th amendment right to seek redress?
22-6907 Jeremy Jermaine Cumbie v. Texas Texas 2023-03-02 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure cruel-unusual-punishment due-process evidence evidence-outside-record outside-the-record record sentencing trial-court-discretion Was Mr. Cumbie denied due process when the court considered evidence outside the record in assessing the sentence?
22-6555 Steven Charles Hill v. Texas Texas 2023-01-18 Denied IFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process evidence-sufficiency jury-verdict life-sentence proportionality sentencing sufficiency-of-evidence Was the evidence sufficient to sustain the jury's guilty verdict?
22-5687 Michael G. Peters v. Mital K. Brammbatt Fifth Circuit 2022-09-28 Dismissed IFP anti-slapp civil-rights cruel-unusual-punishment due-process judicial-conspiracy prison-mail-misappropriations racketeering rico rico-anti-slapp selective-prosecution standing Whether the lower courts erred in dismissing petitioner's claims alleging a decade-long cover-up of political, judicial, and corporate racketeering cr…
21-7512 Kevin E. Herriott v. Major Parrish, et al. Fourth Circuit 2022-03-31 Denied IFP 8th-amendment civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment disciplinary-action due-process eighth-amendment excessive-force good-faith good-faith-effort law-enforcement Whether petitioner given defendants' notice of what the claims are and the grounds upon which it rests?
21-6531 Billy Mack Nichols, Jr. v. Gary Kerstein, et al. Eighth Circuit 2021-12-06 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 14th-amendment 8th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment equal-protection medical-care medical-negligence summary-judgment Whether the lower courts failed to address the medical needs of the petitioner's central diabetes insipidus
21-6206 Joel Barcelona v. Sergeant Parish, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-11-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference due-process eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-threatening life-without-parole medical-treatment refusal-of-care Whether the Respondents, Nurse J.M. Chunnu and Nurse M.M. Kelly, exhibited deliberate indifference to Petitioner's life-threatening medical condition …
21-5407 Robin Rick Manning v. Michigan Michigan 2021-08-17 Denied IFP civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process first-amendment habeas-corpus juvenile-justice miller-v-alabama proportionality-review roper-v-simmons sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether the Michigan Supreme Court's decision to not extend the principle of Miller v. Alabama to 18-20 year olds conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court pr…
21-62 Paul Poupart v. Louisiana, et al. Louisiana 2021-07-16 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) collateral-review constitutional-violation cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process ex-post-facto fraud-on-the-court fraud-upon-court retrospective state-collateral-review Has the State of Lovisiana and its Judicial Officers created and/or imposed an ex post facto law violating the Petitioner's federal due process rights…
20-7127 Clyde Pontefract v. United States, et al. Sixth Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP bivens bivens-action civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment federal-prisoner federal-prisons injunctive-relief municipal-liability standing Does Ziglar V Abbasi apply to Eighth Amendment claims by federal prisoners?
20-6393 Todd C. Hughes v. Florida Florida 2020-11-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment post-conviction postconviction-motion sexual-predator Did the Florida Second District Court of Appeal and the Florida Sixth Judicial Circuit violate the Petitioner's and like situated inmates, rights unde…
20-6240 Kyle Brandon Richards v. Kristopher Taskila, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-11-06 Denied IFP aspergers-syndrome cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process mental-health self-representation sentencing-guidelines sentencing-proportionality Question not identified
20-5887 Charles Kunta Lewis, Jr. v. Michigan Michigan 2020-10-02 Denied IFP age-consideration brain-development constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment individualized-sentencing juvenile-offender juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum sentencing Whether the sentence given to Mr. Lewis was unconstitutional because it violated the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when his youthfu…
20-5845 Deverick Scott v. Danny Burl, Warden, et al. Eighth Circuit 2020-09-30 Denied IFP 1st-amendment administrative-grievance civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process false-disciplinary first-amendment prisoner-rights property-rights retaliation Confiscation-and-destruction-of-prisoner-property
19-8600 Marco E. Torres, Jr. v. Nebraska Nebraska 2020-06-04 Denied IFP bill-of-attainder cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty due-process equal-protection media-campaign referendum Whether the successful media campaign and referendum culminating in affirmance of Mr. Torres' death sentences qualify as cruel-and-unusual-punishment
19-8447 Jeanette D. Davis v. Renee Thomas, et al. Sixth Circuit 2020-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference due-process equal-protection excessive-force grievance-interference grievance-process Were us cha 1.Defendant Officer Renee Thomas inflicted crule an unusal punishment
19-6830 Don Emmery Wilson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-12-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 6th-amendment ambiguous-plea constitutional-rights criminal-matter cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process habeas-corpus hearsay illegal-sentence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel obstruction-of-justice plea-bargaining post-conviction-relief profiling sentencing-guidelines Was petitioner subject to ineffective or deficient assistance of counsel in a criminal matter?
19-6545 Bradly M. Cunningham v. Washington County, Oregon, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-11-07 Dismissed IFP 14th-amendment 8th-amendment civil-rights civil-rights-violation cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process habeas-corpus illegal-sentence parole-board section-1983 sentencing torture Issues being raised
19-443 Charles G. Kinney v. Philip S. Gutierrez, Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California Ninth Circuit 2019-10-03 Denied Response Waived access-to-courts bivens bivens-claim cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment excessive-fines obstruction-of-justice vexatious-litigant Whether the use of vexatious litigant laws to punish an individual and preclude access to the courts, resulting in excessive fines and cruel and unusu…
19-5587 In Re Levar Lee Spence 2019-08-15 Denied Relisted (2)IFP constitutional-violations cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process equal-protection false-imprisonment federal-courts federal-habeas-statute habeas-corpus judicial-review jurisdiction liberty-rights Whether the courts can refuse and/or feign review of habeas corpus claims asserting constitutional violations, would warrant habeas corpus relief?
19-5525 Erika Jacobs v. Atlanta Police Department, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-08 Denied IFP civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-challenge criminal-offense cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment homeless-rights judicial-conspiracy malice police-misconduct standing state-law Is there an issue of judicial conspiracy and malice to overtly conceal offenses of police officers against honest citizens fit the description, for th…
19-5508 Carlin U. Powell v. Medical Department Cuyahoga County Correctional Center, et al. Sixth Circuit 2019-08-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment 8th-amendment ableism ambleism cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment deliberate-indifference eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment interstate-agreement-on-detainers medical-neglect Did the Medical Department of Cuyahoga County Correctional Center et al. violate Carlin U. Powell's 8th and 14th Amendment rights by acting with delib…
18-1585 Kassim M. Nagi v. Louisiana Louisiana 2019-06-27 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) 8th-amendment controlled-substances cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment first-time-offender lockyer-v-andrade money-laundering proportionality proportionality-test racketeering sentencing solem-v-helm Whether a 90-year consecutive sentence for a 33-year-old first-time offender violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishme…
18-1572 Matthew D. Priset v. Pennsylvania Third Circuit 2019-06-25 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 8th-amendment constitutional-law criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment life-sentence mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence mental-illness sentencing Does a mandatory minimum life sentence for one convicted under the guilty-but-mentally-ill designation constitute cruel and unusual punishment?
18-9396 Bobby Joe Long v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2019-05-23 Denied IFP 8th-amendment civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment lethal-injection res-judicata section-1983 stay Whether the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals erred in holding that Mr. Long was not entitled to a stay because of inexcusable delay in bringing his l…
18-8424 Keith Jenkins v. Darrel Vannoy, Warden Fifth Circuit 2019-03-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process excessive-punishment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel multiple-offender sentencing sentencing-guidelines Is the trial court in error by denying the motion to quash based on errors in the multiple offender charging, pleading and proof?
18-7365 Robert Allen DeVore v. Brandon Kelly, Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon 2019-01-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment consecutive-sentences constitutional-law criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment habeas-corpus minimum-sentences sentencing Does the combined sentence totaling of 495 years with a 247% year minimum violate the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment?
18-793 Marion Quinton Brewster v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-12-20 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) armed-career-criminal-act cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment different-occasions legislative-intent sentencing statutory-interpretation vagueness Whether the interpretation of the Armed Career Criminal Act's 'different occasions' provision has become overly broad and vague as to constitute cruel…
18-6238 Edmund Zagorski v. Tony Parker, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Corrections, et al. Tennessee 2018-10-09 Denied IFP constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment execution-methods execution-protocol feasible-alternative fourteenth-amendment lethal-injection state-secrecy Where the credited, credible, and unassailable evidence at trial proves with certainty that a lethal injection protocol will inflict severe pain and m…
18-6167 Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2018-10-02 Denied IFP capital-case capital-case,eighth-amendment,cruel-and-unusual-pu capital-punishment codefendant-culpability codefendants cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty death-sentence eighth-amendment proportionality-review reliability-of-death-sentence Whether an assessment of the relative culpability of codefendants in a capital case in Florida is required pursuant to the Eighth Amendment in order t…
18-5495 In Re Billy Ray Irick 2018-08-07 Denied Amici (1)IFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment evolving-standards-of-decency fourteenth-amendment mental-illness personal-culpability sentencing Whether the imposition of the death penalty on a person who was severely mentally ill at the time of the offense constitutes cruel and unusual punishm…