Hamlet v. Hoxie

Lynn Hamlet is an elderly, diabetic man with glaucoma and cataracts who is the victim of a retaliation campaign by Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) officials that nearly resulted in the loss of his life. 

Mr. Hamlet became a target of officials’ ire after he filed a grievance challenging a fabricated disciplinary report by an FDOC official. After a sham disciplinary hearing, Mr. Hamlet was placed in solitary confinement. 

There, FDOC Officer Hoxie inflicted additional punishment. He was aware that Mr. Hamlet was diabetic with open wounds on his ankles, but still locked Mr. Hamlet in a flooded shower room with feces and urine from another prisoner floating in the water. Mr. Hamlet was trapped there for 40 minutes in ankle-deep standing water, with the excrement seeping into his open wounds. As a result, he developed a life-threatening infection that required emergency heart-valve replacement surgery. Years later, he still suffers complications. 

Mr. Hamlet brought a lawsuit, alleging First Amendment retaliation and Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference claims, but the district court resolved the case in favor of the defendant officers. This decision sends a message that prison officials can keep prisoners in deplorable conditions with no repercussions or consequences. 

The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) appealed on behalf of Mr. Hamlet to the Eleventh Circuit. 

UPDATE: When the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court decision, MJC filed a petition for rehearing en banc, asking the full court to reconsider its decision as to the Eight Amendment claim against Officer Hoxie. Unfortunately, the Eleventh Circuit denied MJC’s petition for rehearing.