On May 26, 1994, Mr. Torrez had sexual intercourse with Ms. Giron in her cell at NMWCF, while he worked as a corrections officer and she was an inmate in the segregation unit. Ms. Giron claims that Mr. Torrez raped her, whereas he characterizes the act as consensual. There were no eyewitnesses. Ms. Giron reported the alleged rape to all levels of authority at NMWCF and immediately underwent medical examination and treatment. She then brought suit in district court against CCA, Warden Newton, and Mr. Torrez.
Warden Newton and CCA moved for partial summary judgment on counts II and III. In response, Ms. Giron offered evidence that the segregation unit was designed so that male officers in the control center could see each female inmate's head, shoulders, torso above the breasts, and legs below the thigh as she undressed to shower. The placement of the showers also prevented officers in the control center from observing persons entering or leaving Ms. Giron's cell. In her deposition, Ms. Giron's expert, Kathryn Monaco, stated that these "unnecessary" design features "heighten[ed] the sexuality and [made] it more likely that [a rape would] occur." Aplt. App. at 122-23. Moreover, the lack of food slots in cell doors in the segregation unit required officers to enter the cells to deliver and retrieve food trays. Ms. Monaco opined that this situation created "a security risk to the staff and offenders," id. at 124, and that inadequate staffing exacerbated the danger.
The district court granted summary judgment for CCA and Warden Newton on counts II and III, holding that the undisputed evidence did not demonstrate failure to provide reasonably safe prison conditions (count II) and Ms. Giron was given legally-adequate medical examination and psychological counseling (count III). The case then went to trial on the remaining claims, and after the district court granted judgment as a matter of law to Defendant Newton, the jury found no liability on the part of Defendants Torrez and CCA, the only remaining Defendants.
Ms. Giron challenges the grant of summary judgment on her § 1983 claims against CCA and Warden Newton. The remainder of her appeal centers on three jury instructions given at trial Instruction No. 8 on Mr. Torrez' use of excessive force in violation of Ms. Giron's Eighth Amendment rights under § 1983; Instruction No. 12, defining "consent"; and Instruction No. 13, defining "effective consent." Although Ms. Giron argues that the consent instructions deprived her of a fair trial, she does not appeal the jury verdict on her intentional tort claims. Nor does she appeal the district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law in favor of CCA on the negligence claim, nor the jury's finding that CCA was not negligent.