Gates v. Collier
| Gates v. Collier | |
|---|---|
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit |
| Full case name | Nazareth Gates et al v. John Collier, Superintendent, Mississippi State Penitentiary, et al |
| Decided | September 20, 1974 |
| Citation | 501 F.2d 1291 (1974) |
| Case history | |
| Prior history | 349 F. Supp. 881 (N.D. Miss. 1972); 371 F. Supp. 1368 (1973) |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Elbert Tuttle, Griffin Bell, Irving Loeb Goldberg |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Tuttle |
| Laws applied | |
| Eighth Amendment | |
Gates v. Collier, 501 F.2d 1291 (5th Cir. 1974), was a landmark decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that brought an end to the trusty system as well as flagrant inmate abuse at Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, in Sunflower County, Mississippi. It was the first case in a body of law developed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that a variety of forms of corporal punishment against prisoners constituted cruel and unusual punishment and a violation of Eighth Amendment rights. This case was also the first broad-scale intervention by a court in the supervision of prison practices.
In Gates v. Collier, the Court of Appeals found certain forms of corporal punishment violate the Eighth Amendment, including "handcuffing inmates to the fence and to cells for long periods of time, ... and forcing inmates to stand, sit or lie on crates, stumps, or otherwise maintain awkward positions for prolonged periods."