Paul Bettencourt v. Delisha Bryant

── Paul Bettencourt v. Delisha Bryant ── Case No.: 25-13222 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: April 02, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-13222 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 04/02/2026 Page: 1 of 11 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-13222 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ PAUL GEORGE BETTENCOURT, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus UNIT MANAGER DELISHA BRYANT, Individual and Official Capacity, Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 7:23-cv-00114-WLS-ALS ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, GRANT, and LAGOA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: USCA11 Case: 25-13222 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 04/02/2026 Page: 2 of 11 2 Opinion of the Court 25-13222 Paul George Bettencourt appeals the dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim alleging that Unit Manager Delisha Bryant vio- lated his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unu- sual punishment. Specifically, he argues that the district court erred when it held that Bettencourt did not abide by 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a)’s mandate to exhaust all available administrative remedies before filing his lawsuit. For the reasons discussed below, we af- firm. 1 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Bettencourt is an inmate at Georgia’s Valdosta State Prison (“VSP”) on the twenty-sixth year of a sixty-year sentence for kid- napping, armed robbery, and aggravated sodomy. He suffers from anxiety, depression, and paranoia and attempted suicide on multi- ple occasions. When an inmate attempts to take his life at VSP, he is placed in the acute crisis unit (“ACU”) for a period before being released back to the dormitories. Because of his numerous suicide attempts, Bettencourt has been placed in the ACU multiple times throughout his sentence. 1 On March 9, 2026, Bettencourt filed a motion to expedite oral argument. We deny his motion as moot. See Fla. Ass’n of Rehab. Facilities, Inc. v. Fla. Dep’t of Health & Rehab. Servs., 225 F.3d 1208, 1217 (11th Cir. 2000). USCA11 Case: 25-13222 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 04/02/2026 Page: 3 of 11 25-13222 Opinion of the Court 3 On January 13, 2023, VSP Unit Manager Delisha Bryant, at the direction of a mental health counselor, ordered that Betten- court be placed in the ACU after he swallowed batteries in the hopes they would explode. Bettencourt’s ACU cell was smeared with dried feces, blood, and other unidentified substances; his cell was cold because the window would not close properly and loud because of the HVAC unit outside his window. Bryant ordered that Bettencourt be given only a paper gown despite a mental health counselor requesting a smock, blanket, and mattress for Bet- tencourt during his ACU confinement. During his time in the ACU, Bettencourt was forbidden from having any sharp objects, including pens and pencils. Bettencourt was formally discharged from the ACU on January 30, 2023, but remained in the sharps-re- stricted unit until he was assigned a room on Februar