FILED Apr 18 2024, 9:00 am
CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court
IN THE
Court of Appeals of Indiana Shaka Adiyia Shakur, Appellant-Plaintiff
v.
Jack Hendrix Executive Director, et al., Appellees-Defendants
April 18, 2024 Court of Appeals Case No. 23A-CT-1564 Appeal from the Sullivan Circuit Court The Honorable Robert E. Hunley, II, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 77C01-1902-CT-64
Opinion by Chief Judge Altice Judges Bradford and Felix concur.
Altice, Chief Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 1 of 18 Case Summary [1] Shaka Shakur appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of
Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Robert Carter, Jr.
(Commissioner Carter), DOC Director Jack Hendrix, and Westville
Correctional Facility (Westville) Warden Richard Brown (collectively, the
DOC Officials). Shakur claims that the trial court erred in concluding that his
claims of due process violations and cruel and unusual punishment were time-
barred. Shakur further contends that genuine issues of material fact remain as
to whether his constitutional rights were violated as a result of DOC
disciplinary sanctions and alleged medical neglect at various DOC facilities.
[2] We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History [3] On July 25, 2003, Shakur was transferred to the Pendleton Correctional Facility
(Pendleton) following the imposition of a sixty-three-year sentence for murder.
Thereafter, Shakur was transferred to the following DOC facilities:
4. [Shakur was] transferred to Wabash Valley Correctional Facility [Wabash] on July 20, 2005.
5. [The next day], Shakur was . . . transferred to [Westville]. . . .
6. [Shakur] was . . . transferred back to [Wabash] on November 3, 2005.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 2 of 18 7. [Shakur] remained there until he was transferred to [Westville] on March 2, 2012.
8. Thereafter, [Shakur] was transferred to New Castle Correctional Facility [New Castle] on March 25, 2014.
9. [Shakur] was then transferred to [Pendleton] on July 17, 2014.
10. Thereafter, [Shakur] was transferred back to [Wabash] on January 8, 2016.
11. [Shakur] remained there until he was transferred to Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Virginia [Virginia Correctional Center] pursuant to an interstate compact agreement on December 19. 2018.
Appellant’s Appendix Vol. II at 20-21.
[4] In January 2004, Shakur received his first conduct violation report while
incarcerated at the DOC for refusing to accept a work assignment. Thereafter,
Shakur committed more than thirty-five additional disciplinary offenses at
various DOC facilities, and at least three of those incidents resulted in criminal
charges against him. More specifically, a murder charge in 2005 was resolved
through a plea agreement, wherein Shakur pleaded guilty to possession of a
dangerous device, a Class B felony, and was sentenced to twenty years. Shakur
also was convicted of Class B felony battery by bodily waste in 2006, for which
he was sentenced to a two-year term of incarceration. And in 2017, Shakur
pleaded guilty to Level 5 felony battery and was sentenced to three years for
that offense. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 3 of 18 [5] As a consequence of Shakur’s 2005 murder charge, a one-year disciplinary
segregation sanction was imposed. After completing that sanction, Shakur
continued to remain in “restrictive housing” at the DOC. Appellant’s Appendix
Vol. II at 227. Restrictive housing required Shakur to be isolated from the
general prison population and reside in a single cell. Shakur, however, could
have visits from family members, and he was permitted to make weekly phone
calls. Shakur could also use the prison library and exercise in a fenced-in area.
Mental health care providers performed weekly rounds in Shakur’s unit, and
Shakur could request additional mental health care services from prison staff in
addition to those weekly visits.
[6] On May 23, 2014, a disciplinary hearing officer found Shakur guilty of refusing
to submit to a drug test and a suspended three-month sanction in disciplinary
segregation was imposed. Three months later, Shakur was found guilty of
possessing contraband and a cellphone, both of which resulted in placement in
disciplinary segregation. Following those incidents, Shakur remained in
disciplinary segregation for the duration of his incarceration in the DOC.
[7] On February 23, 2017, Director Carter issued an Executive Directive
(Directive) establishing that any offender found guilty of a battery or assault
involving a “Department staff member, volunteer, or visitor” that results in
“bodily injury or serious bodily injury, . . . shall receive, in addition to other
sanctions for the offense . . . a loss of the entire balance of the offender’s accumulated
earned credit time.” Id. at 167 (emphasis added). The Directive was effective
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 4 of 18 immediately and was “applicable to all [DOC] facilities housing adult
offenders.” Id.
[8] Six months later when Shakur was being escorted to Wabash’s recreation area,
he removed his restraints, pulled a sharpened piece of plastic from his
waistband, and stabbed a correctional officer multiple times. Shakur was found
guilty of battery on a correctional officer for this offense, which resulted in the
revocation of all 3,190 days of his earned credit time. Shakur was thereafter
transferred to the Virginia Correctional Center.
[9] On February 7, 2019, Shakur filed an action against the DOC Officials pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 1 (Section 1983 Action), alleging violations of his
Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment rights under the United States
1 42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides in part that
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress[.]
42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides a civil remedy against a person who, under color of state law, subjects a United States citizen to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the federal Constitution or federal laws. Long v. Durnil, 697 N.E.2d 100, 105 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied. In order to recover damages under this statute, a plaintiff must show that (1) he held a constitutionally protected right, (2) he was deprived of this right, (3) the defendant acted with reckless indifference to cause this deprivation, and (4) the defendant acted under color of state law. Id. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 was designed to prevent the states from violating the Constitution and certain federal statutes and to compensate injured plaintiffs for deprivations of those federal rights. Culver-Union Twp. Ambulance Serv. v. Steindler, 629 N.E.2d 1231,1233 (Ind. 1994).
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 5 of 18 Constitution. Shakur asserted that the DOC Officials denied him “adequate
process and meaningful periodic review concerning his approximately thirteen .
. . years in solitary confinement” in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Appellant’s Appendix Vol. II at 31-32. Shakur also claimed that his due process
rights were violated by “the retroactive enlargement of his sentence by more
than eight (8) years,” that his Eighth Amendment rights were violated by the
“denial of access to adequate mental health care,” and that the DOC Officials
failed to protect him “from the known danger of extended placement in solitary
confinement.” Id. at 32. Shakur sought damages and the reinstatement of his
3,190 days of credit time.
[10] After denying the allegations, the DOC Officials filed a motion for summary
judgment, claiming that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law
because Shakur’s claims regarding his housing status from 2005 to 2016 were
barred under the two-year statute of limitations, that Shakur’s due process rights
were not implicated because he had no liberty interest in being free from
disciplinary segregation, and that Shakur’s Eighth Amendment rights were not
violated because Shakur was properly ordered to remain in disciplinary housing
and was provided with adequate mental health care and counseling during his
incarceration.
[11] Following a hearing, the trial court granted the DOC Officials’ motion for
summary judgment on June 9, 2023. The order states in relevant part that '
4. Shakur’s claims regarding his housing status from 2005 to 2016 are barred by the statute of limitations.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 6 of 18 5. Shakur was appropriately placed in disciplinary segregation.
6. Shakur appropriately remained in segregated housing due to his ongoing severe conduct violations and criminal charges, including the stabbing of a Correctional Officer, and the safety needs of the facilities.
7. A prisoner’s claim of violations of due process stemming from a prison disciplinary hearing is not cognizable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when the prisoner’s “claim for declaratory relief and money damages, [is] based on allegations of deceit and bias on the part of the decisionmaker that necessarily imply the invalidity of the punishment imposed.” Edwards v. Balisock, 520 U.S. 641, 648 (1997).
8. [Shakur] has no liberty interest in being free from disciplinary segregation and due process protections do not apply in this case.
9. To the extent it was owed, [Shakur] received adequate due process in his disciplinary hearings. Prison disciplinary proceedings are not part of a criminal prosecution, and the full panoply of rights due a defendant in such proceedings does not apply.
10. Deliberate indifference is “something approaching a total unconcern for a prisoner’s welfare in the face of serious risks,” or a “conscious, culpable refusal” to prevent harm. Duane v. Lane, 959 F.2d 673, 677 (7th Cir. 1992). To prove deliberate indifference, a prisoner must establish that the defendant had actual knowledge of an impending harm easily preventable, so that a conscious, culpable refusal to prevent the harm can be inferred from the defendant’s failure to prevent it.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 7 of 18 11. [Shakur] has not provided any evidence to support his Eighth Amendment claims against [the DOC Officials]. [Shakur] was evaluated by a psychiatrist in 2018 and had no mental health issues as alleged in his Complaint.
12. Based on the foregoing, . . . the [DOC Officials] . . . are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
[12] Shakur now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
I. Standard of Review [13] Our Supreme Court recently reiterated our standard of review of a trial court’s
decision on summary judgment as follows:
We review the trial court’s summary judgment decision de novo. [The moving party] is entitled to summary judgment if the designated evidence shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A genuine issue of material fact exists when there is contrary evidence showing differing accounts of the truth, or when conflicting reasonable inferences may be drawn from the parties’ consistent accounts and resolution of that conflict will affect the outcome of a claim. To the extent we have any doubts concerning the existence of a genuine issue of material fact, we must resolve those doubts in favor of the nonmoving party.
Z.D. v. Community Health Net., Inc., 217 N.E.3d 527, 531 (Ind. 2023) (citations
and internal quotes omitted). When reviewing the grant of summary judgment,
we may affirm the trial court’s ruling on any basis apparent in the record.
Markey v. Estate of Markey, 38 N.E.3d 1003, 1006-07 (Ind. 2015).
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 8 of 18 II. Shakur’s Claims
A. Due Process [14] Shakur contends that the trial court erred in determining that his claims against
the DOC Officials are time-barred. He argues that his Section 1983 Action is
not foreclosed because the DOC Officials’ conduct constituted a “continuing
violation” and, therefore, the statute of limitations was not triggered.
Appellant’s Brief at 16. Shakur further maintains that genuine issues of material
fact remain as to whether his retention in solitary confinement and the DOC
Officials’ conduct regarding the revocation of his credit time violated his right
to due process.
[15] At the outset, we note that our research has revealed little Indiana authority on
point as to the issues that Shakur presents in this appeal. Thus, we will turn to
our sister states and federal cases for guidance and persuasive authority. See
Specialty Foods of Indiana, Inc. v. City of South Bend, 997 N.E.2d 23, 27 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2013), trans. denied. As for Shakur’s statute of limitations argument, at
least one court has determined that the “applicable statute of limitations for
section 1983 claims is the state period for personal injury torts.” Kalimara v.
Illinois Dep’t of Corr., 879 F.2d 276, 277 (7th Cir. 1989) (citing Wilson v. Garcia,
471 U.S. 261 (1985)). Indiana’s personal injury statute, Ind. Code § 34-11-2-
4(a), establishes that “[a]n action must be commenced within two (2) years after
the cause of action accrues.” A cause of action “accrues and the statute of
limitations begins to run when the plaintiff knew or, in the exercise of ordinary
diligence, could have discovered that an injury had been sustained as a result of Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 9 of 18 the tortious act of another.” Indiana Dep’t of Child Servs. v. Morgan, 148 N.E.3d
1030, 1033 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020), trans. denied.
[16] Here, the designated evidence shows that although Shakur was continuously
placed in restrictive housing since 2005 at various DOC facilities, he did not file
his Section 1983 Action against the DOC Officials until February 2019. Thus,
in accordance with the two-year limitations period set forth in I.C. § 34-11-11-2-
4(a), Shakur’s claims were limited to damages—if any—that accrued within the
twenty-four-month window prior to that date. Any claims for relief that
accrued before that deadline were time-barred and unavailable to him.
[17] Additionally, although Shakur maintains that the DOC Officials’ conduct
amounted to a continuing episode of harm against him that would preserve his
claim for damages before the 2017 cutoff, we note that the “continuing wrong”
doctrine applies where an entire course of conduct combines to produce an
injury. Crowe, Chizek, & Co., L.L.P. v. Oil Tech., Inc., 771 N.E.2d 1203, 1210
(Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied. When a loss is intermittent and recurring,
“new limitations are triggered” each time the loss occurs. Kerr v. City of South
Bend, 48 N.E.3d 348, 355 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
[18] The designated evidence in this case does not establish that Shakur’s placement
in disciplinary segregation at the various DOC facilities was a single,
continuous episode. Rather, those sanctions resulted from a series of
disciplinary proceedings that occurred at various times in 2005 and from 2013-
17. Each offense that Shakur committed, and the sanctions imposed thereon,
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 10 of 18 were separate and did not constitute an ongoing episode. Hence, Shakur’s
recovery—if any—is “limited to losses which occurred beginning” two years
before he filed his complaint. Id. As Shakur did not file his complaint until
February 2019, his claims for damages occurring before February 2017 are
time-barred under I.C. § 34-11-11-2-4(a), and only those that accrued after that
date may proceed.
[19] Turning to those instances and Shakur’s claims of alleged violations of due
process, the United States Supreme Court has observed that procedural due
process claims are typically considered in two steps. First, it is determined
whether the State has deprived the individual of a property or liberty interest,
and the second step examines what process is due and whether the procedures
utilized by the State comport with due process. See Kentucky Dep’t of Corr. v.
Thompson, 490 U.S. 454, 460 (1989). Whether a liberty interest exists requires
examining state law to determine if the person has a legitimate claim of
entitlement. See Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 557-58 (1974). “The
requirements of procedural due process apply only to the deprivation of
interests encompassed by the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of liberty
and property.” Bd. Of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569 (1972). Therefore, if
neither a liberty nor a property interest is at stake, the State may “use any
procedures it chooses, or no procedures at all.” Montgomery v. Anderson, 262
F.3d 641, 645 (7th Cir. 2001).
[20] Here, Shakur is challenging the sanctions imposed while incarcerated in the
DOC, claiming that the DOC Officials violated his due process rights by
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 11 of 18 revoking all of his credit time and depriving him of his liberty interest when he
was placed in disciplinary segregation. Indiana state prisoners have a liberty
interest in good time credits, and they are entitled to due process before the
State may revoke those credits. Cochran v. Buss, 381 F.3d 637, 639 (7th Cir.
2004). We note, however, that our courts lack subject matter jurisdiction to
consider challenges to DOC’s administrative disciplinary decisions. Blanck v.
Indiana Dep’t of Corr., 829 N.E.2d 505, 507 (Ind. 2005). And prisoners may not
generally invoke U.S.C. § 1983 to collaterally attack the outcome of prison
disciplinary matters. See Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S.475, 476 (1973). Instead,
State prisoners who desire to challenge their sentences or administrative orders
revoking good time credits must seek habeas corpus relief because they are
contesting the fact or duration of confinement. Id. at 489. Stated differently
when an offender challenges the sanctions imposed in a prison discipline
proceeding on constitutional grounds, “habeas corpus—not §1983—is the
specific instrument to obtain release from unlawful imprisonment.” Morgan v.
Schott, 914 F.3d 1115, 1119 (7th Cir. 2019) (emphasis added). The two statutes
are not interchangeable. Thus, when a prisoner challenges the fact or “duration
of his confinement,” he fails to state a cognizable Section 1983 claim. Id. (citing
Preiser, 411 U.S. at 489).
[21] We also observe that before an offender can present a claim in a Section 1983
Action alleging a constitutional violation regarding a prison disciplinary
proceeding, he must satisfy the “favorable termination rule” set forth in Heck v.
Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). That is, a prisoner must first have a conviction
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 12 of 18 or sentence reversed, expunged, or called into question through a writ of habeas
corpus for an “allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment or for
other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or
sentence invalid.” Id. at 486-87; see also Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641, 648
(1997) (where the rule in Heck was extended to preclude Section 1983 claims
challenging procedural deficiencies that necessarily imply the invalidity of the
outcome of a prison disciplinary proceeding). Shakur challenges the DOC’s
disciplinary actions where habeas review was available, so they are not
presentable pursuant to Heck and Edwards as a Section 1983 Action. See, e.g.,
Cochran v. Buss, 381 F.3d 637, 639 (7th Cir 2004) (observing that State prisoners
seeking to challenge administrative orders revoking good time credits or
equivalent sentence-shortening mechanisms must seek habeas corpus).
[22] We also reject Shakur’s argument that the DOC Officials waived applicability
of the Heck and Edwards rules because they failed to plead the issue as an
affirmative defense. Even though Indiana Trial Rule 8(C) generally requires
responsive pleadings to raise affirmative defenses, trial courts may exercise their
discretion and entertain affirmative defenses that are not raised in a responsive
pleading. Oshinski v. N. Indiana Commuter Transp. Dist., 843 N.E.2d 536, 538
(Ind. Ct. App. 2006). Here, the trial court considered and ruled on the DOC
Officials’ Heck and Edwards claims in its summary judgment order. And while
the DOC Officials did not make specific references to Heck and Edwards in their
Answer to Shakur’s complaint, they asserted that the trial court lacked “subject
matter jurisdiction over all claims relating to or arising out of prison discipline”
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 13 of 18 and then went on to address the Heck and Edwards issue in their summary
judgment motion. Appellant’s Appendix Vol. II at 49. Thus, the trial court and
Shakur were on notice that the DOC Officials intended to argue that the trial
court lacked the authority to adjudicate Shakur’s contentions as they related to
prison discipline. That said, Shakur’s claim that the DOC Officials waived the
applicability of the Heck and Edwards limitations, fails.
[23] Finally, we note that Shakur’s claims that arguably are not precluded by Heck
and Edwards are those that involved the two disciplinary proceedings that
occurred after October 4, 2017. In both those instances, Shakur was sanctioned
with separate six-month terms of disciplinary segregation after the balance of his
3,190 days of credit time had already been revoked. Shakur, however, did not
treat the sanctions that were imposed after October 2017 as separate from the
all-encompassing due process violations that he alleged in his complaint until
he raised that issue in his reply brief on appeal. As a result, Shakur has waived
the issue. See, e.g., Lafayette Rentals, Inc. v. Low Cost Spay-Neuter Clinic, Inc., 207
N.E.3d 1222, 1233 n.1 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023) (holding that an appellant is
precluded from raising an issue for the first time in his reply brief).
[24] Waiver notwithstanding, the designated evidence demonstrates that Shakur has
not served the sanctions that were imposed after October 2017. More
specifically, because of the earlier conduct violations and sanctions that were
imposed, the 2017 sanctions were not set to commence until 2020. Shakur,
however, was transferred to the Virginia Correctional Center in December
2018, at which time he was no longer housed in disciplinary segregation. As
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 14 of 18 Shakur did not serve any part of those sanctions, he has failed to demonstrate
any injury that resulted from the DOC Officials’ actions. Thus, Shakur was
without standing to bring a Section 1983 Action on those claims. See,
e.g., Solarize Indiana, Inc. v. S. Indiana Gas & Elec. Co., 182 N.E.3d 212, 218 (Ind.
2022) (standing requires a party to show that he has suffered or was in
immediate danger of suffering a direct injury as result of the complained of
conduct). For all these reasons, Shakur’s due process challenges fail, and we
conclude that the trial court properly granted summary judgment in the DOC
Officials’ favor as to those claims.
II. Eighth Amendment Challenges
[25] Shakur argues that the trial court erred in granting the DOC Officials’ motion
for summary judgment on his Eighth Amendment claim because genuine issues
of material fact exist as to whether the DOC Officials failed to protect him and
provide him with necessary medical care.
[26] When a prisoner raises an Eighth Amendment claim, a prison official cannot be
found liable for denying an inmate humane conditions of confinement unless
the official knows of and disregards an excessive risk to inmate health or safety.
Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994). Thus, Shakur would be required
to show that the DOC Officials were “deliberately indifferent” to his “serious
medical needs.” See Ratliff v. Cohn, 693 N.E.2d 530, 544 (Ind. 1998).
Deliberate indifference has been defined as “something approaching a total
unconcern for a prisoner’s welfare in the face of serious risks” or a “conscious,
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 15 of 18 culpable refusal” to prevent harm. Duane v. Lane, 959 F.2d 673, 677 (7th Cir.
1992). It must be established that the DOC Officials were “subjectively aware
of and intentionally disregarded an objectively serious risk to his health or
safety.” Johnson v. Prentice, 29 F.4th 895, 904 (7th Cir. 2022), cert. denied. Also,
before prison officials can be held liable for an Eighth Amendment violation,
the plaintiff must articulate the conditions of confinement that he is challenging
with specificity. Id. Challenges “to conditions of confinement cannot be
aggregated and considered in combination unless ‘they have a mutually
enforcing effect that produces the deprivation of a single, identifiable need such
as food, warmth, or exercise—for example, a low cell temperature at night
combined with a failure to issue blankets.’” Id. (quoting Wilson v. Seiter, 501
U.S. 294, 304 (1991)).
[27] In this case, the essence of Shakur’s Eighth Amendment claim is that the DOC
Officials failed to protect his mental health when they placed him in restrictive
housing. Shakur does not specify what conditions of restrictive housing
contributed to the harm he alleges. Rather, the designated evidence Shakur
presented assumes that his segregation from the general prison population
caused him to suffer psychiatric symptoms. For Eighth Amendment liability to
attach, a serious injury or medical need is “one that has been diagnosed by a
physician as mandating treatment or one that is so obvious that even a lay
person would easily recognize the necessity for a doctor’s attention.” Henderson
v. Sheahan, 196 F.3d 839, 846 (7th Cir. 1999).
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 16 of 18 [28] It is not established here that the DOC Officials were deliberately indifferent to
Shakur’s sufficiently serious injury or medical need. Shakur averred in his
affidavit that he experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, heard
voices, and had suicidal ideation. These assertions, however, were not
supported with a medical diagnosis. Shakur only presented a secondary source
that described various psychiatric conditions that might result from prolonged
isolation in restrictive housing. The author of that work, however, did not
diagnose Shakur with any of those illnesses. To the contrary, the medical
evidence that does exist, i.e., a competency evaluation conducted by a
psychiatrist at the Indiana University School of Medicine, established that
Shakur was not suffering from a psychiatric illness. That report specifically
stated that “[Shakur] did not appear to meet criteria for diagnosis with any
anxiety, mood, psychotic, personality . . . trauma disorder, . . . or signs of
psychosis.” Appellant’s Appendix Vol. II at 160.
[29] The designated evidence establishes as a matter of law that the DOC Officials
were not indifferent to Shakur’s mental health to the extent that he could be
negatively affected from disciplinary segregation. Shakur had weekly access to
mental health care professionals during his incarceration, and he admitted that
mental health care providers visited him “one day per week” to check on his
well-being. Id. at 230. Although Shakur alleged that those visits were short, he
further admitted that he could have lengthier conversations on occasion and
request a mental health care provider in addition to the weekly visits. As a
result, the undisputed material facts establish that the components of the
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 17 of 18 deliberate-indifference test could not be satisfied here. Thus, Shakur cannot
challenge the overall conditions of his confinement, and the psychiatric illnesses
he complains of did not amount to objectively serious harm. See Ratliff, 693
N.E.2d 530 at 44.
[30] In sum, the designated evidence established that Shakur was provided with
regular access to medical care, and there is no evidence that the DOC Officials
were deliberately indifferent to the conditions of Shakur’s confinement. Thus,
Shakur’s Eighth Amendment claims fail as a matter of law, and we conclude
that the trial court properly granted the DOC Officials’ motion for summary
judgment as to those contentions.
[31] Judgment affirmed.
Bradford, J. and Felix, J., concur.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Christopher C. Myers Ft. Wayne, Indiana
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General
Evan Matthew Comer Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-CT-1564 | April 18, 2024 Page 18 of 18