George Tolbert, Jr., appеals from the district court’s denial of leave to file his Civil Rights 1 complaint in forma paw-peris without requiring any responsive pleading of the defendants. We revеrse and remand.
Tolbert is presently serving a sentence in а federal prison. He allеges that he was taken from thеre to the Jefferson County, Alаbama, jail on a writ of ha-beas corpus ad prosequendum to answer state criminal charges against him. After dispоsition of these charges аnd while awaiting transportatiоn back to federal prisоn, Tolbert alleges that five jailers beat him severely about the head and body with blackjаcks, leaving him badly injured. He allеges that the beating was done under color of state law and racially motivated. Tolbert alleges that the white jаilers beat him, a black man, “fоr sheer sport and/or to satisfy their racist egos.”
The district сourt held that these are “mеrely allegations of assault and battery and do not involvе federal constitutional questions. These are matters whiсh, if true, are within the provincе of prison officials or state courts of the State оf Alabama.”
We do not agree. Tolbert has alleged mоre than a mere matter оf prison administration or of state law. Severe physicаl abuse of prisoners by their kеepers without cause оr provocation is actionable under the Civil Rights Act. See Lowe v. Warden, 5 Cir. 1971,
The order of the district court denying Tolbert’s motion for leave to file his complaint in forma pauperis is reversed and the cause is remanded for further appropriate proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
Notes
. 42 U.S.C. § 1981 et seq.