James Smith v. Sammy Johnson

COLLOTON, Circuit Judgé.

James Edward Smith, an inmate of the Arkansas Department of Correction, filed suit against Sammy D. Johnson, a corree- tional officer, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a violation of Smith’s Eighth Amendment rights. Smith asserts that Johnson and another officer acted with deliberate indifference to Smith’s safety by placing him where another inmate could attack him and then intentionally punishing him for the altercation. The district court dismissed Smith’s suit on the grounds that it was barred by either the doctrine of claim preclusion or issue preclusion in light…