Jones v. Florida Department of Corrections, et al.

Dytrell Jones was held by the Florida Department of Corrections in disgusting conditions: His cells were infested with insects and rodents, his toilet was always clogged, his sink had a sickening smell, and mold and mildew had caked up on the walls and in the vents. Mr. Jones’s cell was so gross that he ended up with a skin infection that he described as causing him “excruciating pain.”

Mr. Jones continually objected to the conditions in his cell to the officers in charge. But instead of helping him, they punished him by restricting his access to property and clothing, and by pepper-spraying him. Mr. Jones then tried to sue to vindicate his rights in the Middle District of Florida. But a district court decided that Mr. Jones had failed to allege that he suffered a serious enough injury to recover any damages, and that none of Mr. Jones’s constitutional rights had been violated.

Our opening brief in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals challenges these conclusions. We explain that Mr. Jones clearly alleged that his Eighth Amendment and First Amendment rights were violated—by knowingly holding him in objectively disgusting conditions, by pepper-spraying him for no reason, and by punishing him for complaining about his cell. We also urge the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider its interpretation of a particular section of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. 1997e(e), which the district court relied on in deciding that Mr. Jones’s injuries weren’t serious enough for him to recover damages.

Although the Eleventh Circuit didn’t reach the main arguments, it held that the district court erred by dismissing Mr. Jones’s complaint without affording him an opportunity to amend it. This means that Mr. Jones’s case will continue in the district court and Mr. Jones will have another shot at enforcing his constitutional right to sanitary living conditions.