Reilly v. Grayson.U.S. Appeals Court COMPENSATORY DAMAGES A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another. PUNITIVE DAMAGES Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. Reilly v. Grayson, 310 F.3d 519 (6th Cir. 2002). A prisoner brought a [section] 1983 action against prison officials alleging violation of his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. . The district court entered judgment for the prisoner and awarded damages. The defendants appealed and the appeals court affirmed. The appeals court held that the prisoner had a right not to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke environmental tobacco smoke (ETS/passive smoke), n the gaseous by-product of burning tobacco products, including but not limited to commercially manufactured cigarettes and cigars; contains toxic elements harmful to the health of adults and children that presented a serious risk to his health, and to removed from places where smoke hovered. The court affirmed the lower court findings that the prisoner's asthma was a serious medical condition and that it was exacerbated by exposure to second-hand smoke, and that the defendants repeatedly failed to respond to repeated recommendations by medical personnel that the prisoner be moved to a smoke-free setting. The appeals court affirmed the award of actual damages rather than nominal damages in the amount of $36,500, and the award of punitive damages in the amount of $18,250. The court found no abuse of discretion in the district court's award of $51,786 in attorney's fees. (Michigan Department of Corrections The Michigan Department of Corrections oversees prisons and other correctional facilities in the state of Michigan, USA. It has some 43 prison facilities, 10 camps and a Special Alternative Incarceration program, together composing approximately 50,000 inmates. ) |
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