Kelly v. Arizona Ex Rel. Arizona Department of Corrections

Appellant Lynn Butcher, as representative of the estate of Sean Kelly, appeals from the district court’s judgment dismissing the estate’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Appellees Dora Schriro, the former Arizona Department of Corrections Director, and Berry Larson, the former Warden of the Arizona State Prison Complex, Lewis/Morey Unit for failure to state a claim. We review de novo a district court’s dismissal. Coto Settlement v. Eisenberg, 593 F.3d 1031, 1034 (9th Cir.2010). We affirm.

At the time of his death, Sean Kelly was a prisoner of the state of Arizona, serving a nine-year sentence for possession of dangerous drugs and conspiring to promote prison contraband. On multiple occasions, Kelly notified state authorities that he needed to be placed in protective segregation because of threats to his safety by other prisoners. On June 29, 2008, following a multi-faith religious service, two inmates sneaked into Kelly’s housing unit and murdered him by stabbing him no less than 116 times.

Butcher alleges that Schriro and Larson violated Kelly’s Eighth Amendment rights by permitting the prison to be understaffed in violation of Department of Corrections policies, which enabled…