What is the subjective element of an Eighth Amendment violation?

The subjective element of an Eighth Amendment violation asks whether the prison official acted with deliberate indifference in denying medical care or exposing the prisoner to the risk of disease. For conduct to qualify as "deliberately indifferent" in the context of conditions of confinement, the conduct must be shown to be "wanton." "[T]he constraints facing the official" must be considered when determining whether conduct is wanton. Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 303 (1991). A deprivation of a treatment or the exposure to a hazard may be found to be wanton

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only if it was within the official's ability at the time to avoid the exposure to risk or deprivation of care. "Wantonness consist[s] of 'acting sadistically and maliciously for the purpose of causing harm.'" Id., quoting Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 321-322 (1986).