Can an inmate make a claim under the Eighth Amendment for bodily harm against a prison guard who allegedly threatened to beat an inmate?

The Eighth Amendment requires that inmates be furnished with the basic human needs, one of which is reasonable safety. Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25, 33 (1993) (inmate stated colorable Eighth Amendment claim when he alleged that current compelled exposure to environmental tobacco smoke posed an unreasonable risk to inmate's health). The amendment protects against future harms. Id. For example, inmates may state a colorable Eighth Amendment claim when they allege exposure to unsafe conditions that have not yet resulted in injury. Id. ("It would be odd to deny an injunction to inmates who plainly proved an unsafe, life-threatening condition in their prison on the ground that nothing yet had happened to them.")

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However, actual exposure to the unsafe condition is required. Even a direct threat of harm, independent of actual subjection to danger, does not violate the Eighth Amendment. Gaut v. Sunn, 810 F.2d 923, 925 (9th Cir. 1987) (prison guards' alleged threats to beat inmate did not state a claim under the Eighth Amendment).