Question: How does the 14th amendment protect pretrial detainees?
Answer: Jail officials must not act with deliberate indifference to the needs of the prisoners.
The 8th Amendment, applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, protects prisoners from prison conditions that cause the wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain. This includes hazardous prison conditions and those in custody are entitled to confinement under humane conditions that provide for their basic human needs. Further, the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, rather than the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, is the source of pretrial detainees’ rights as noted above. The 14th Amendment’s due process clause is at least as broad as those that the 8th Amendment affords to convicted prisoners, and is even more expansive.
Officials have a duty to ensure that inmates receive proper food, clothing, shelter and medical care. The Constitution imposes a duty on jails to ensure an inmate’s safety and well-being. This duty includes the duty to prevent the reasonable risk of harm, including future harm. This protection extends to the risk of self-harm. Prison officials violate inmates’ constitutional rights when the officials act with deliberate indifference to inmates’ serious medical needs. However, the conditions that a detainee is subjected to in their confinement needs to exceed mere discomfort to be found constitutionally unacceptable.