Opinion
No. 07-11466 Non-Argument Calendar.
September 5, 2007.
McNeill Stokes, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Pattie Jane Williams, Attorney General-Department of Law, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. D.C. Docket No. 05-00433-CV-WDO-5.
Before BLACK, MARCUS and WILSON, Circuit Judges.
Arthur Battle appeals the district court's dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. Battle alleged that he was beaten by Georgia prison guards while incarcerated at Macon State Prison. We review the district court's dismissal for failure to exhaust a claim under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997(e) de novo. Brown v. Sikes, 212 F.3d 1205, 1207 (11th Cir. 2000). Battle did not exhaust his claims by pursuing all administrative remedies before filing his lawsuit as required by PLRA. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). He only made an informal grievance and did not pursue the avenues available for an appeal under the Georgia prison procedures. The exhaustion requirement is mandatory, and therefore Battle's suit was properly dismissed by the district court. See Alexander v. Hawk, 159 F.3d 1321 (11th Cir. 1998).