The 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, prohibits excessive force against convicted prisoners. This type of excessive force can take many forms, including verbal, physical, and psychological. The elements of an 8th Amendment violation of excessive force against a prisoner are: 1. An objectively unreasonable use of force by a prison guard or other authority figure. 2. A serious injury or risk of serious injury resulting from the use of force. 3. A causal connection between the use of force and the injury or risk of injury. 4. The prison guard or authority figure knew that the use of force was objectively unreasonable or acted with deliberate indifference to the risk of harm. 5. The prisoner was not actively resisting or posing an immediate threat of harm to the guard or others.