盖伊诉邓恩等人案

Steven Mullins, an inmate at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Alabama, reported sexual abuse by his cellmate, Clarence Jackson. The next day, Jackson fatally stabbed Mullins. Lori Guy Wills, as administrator of Mullins's estate, filed a civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against multiple Alabama Department of Corrections officials and facility supervisors. The plaintiff alleged that prison staff were deliberately indifferent to Mullins's safety and retaliated against him for reporting the abuse. On July 18, 2025, Judge Annemarie Carney Axon granted summary judgment in favor of defendants Gwendolyn Givens, William Ragsdale, and Antoine Price on the retaliation claims (Count Six).

On July 18, 2025, the court granted summary judgment to defendants Givens, Ragsdale, and Price on the retaliation claims, dismissing them with prejudice. On October 15, 2025, a joint stipulation of dismissal was filed, dismissing all claims against the remaining facility defendants with prejudice. The case was resolved through settlement, with costs assumed according to the parties' settlement agreement.

Whether prison officials Gwendolyn Givens, William Ragsdale, and Antoine Price retaliated against Steven Mullins for reporting sexual abuse, in violation of his constitutional rights. The court examined if the defendants took adverse actions against Mullins and whether there was a causal connection to his protected activity of reporting the assault.

The case highlighted the severe issue of prison violence in Alabama, noting that St. Clair Correctional Facility had the highest homicide rate among state prisons, with four prisoners stabbed to death in the year before Mullins's death. It underscored ongoing concerns about the failure of prison staff to protect inmates from harm and the challenges inmates face when reporting abuse. The settlement and dismissal of claims against facility defendants reflect the complexities of holding prison officials accountable for inmate safety.