[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-14042
December 14, 2005
Non-Argument Calendar THOMAS K. KAHN
________________________ CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 03-14206-CV-DLG
WILLIAM D. BROWN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
GEORGE THOMPSON,
in his individual capacity,
BILLY ELLERBEE,
in his individual capacity,
JESSE JENKINS,
in his individual capacity,
FRANK PRESCOTT,
in his individual capacity,
DR. CURTIS BOEHMER,
in his individual capacity, et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________
(December 14, 2005)
Before MARCUS, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
William D. Brown, a Florida prisoner, appeals the dismissal of his complaint
for failure to state a claim. Because Brown’s complaint states a claim for a
violation of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth
and Fourteenth Amendments, we reverse.
“A complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it
appears beyond doubt that Plaintiff can prove no set of facts that would entitle him
to relief.” Omar ex rel. Cannon v. Lindsey, 334 F.3d 1246, 1247 (11th Cir. 2003).
Brown’s complaint alleges that several officers on the staff of the Okeechobee
Correctional Institution, where Brown was incarcerated, used excessive force
against him with malicious and sadistic intent to harm him. Brown alleges that the
officers repeatedly stunned Brown with a stun gun to prod him to obey orders,
although the officers knew that Brown was unable to comply with their orders.
Because “under the Eighth Amendment, force is deemed legitimate in a custodial
setting [only] as long as it is applied in a good faith effort to maintain or restore
discipline [and not] maliciously and sadistically to cause harm[,]” Skritch v.
Thornton, 280 F.3d 1295, 1300 (11th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks and
citations omitted), Brown’s allegations of malicious use of excessive force against
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him are sufficient to state a claim.
The dismissal of Brown’s complaint for failure to state a claim is
REVERSED.
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