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Law

The Constitutionality of Solitary Confinement as Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Quick fact

The Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled solitary confinement unconstitutional per se, but recent decisions and dissents suggest that prolonged isolation may violate the Eighth Amendment due to severe psychological harm.

Why this is interesting

Imagine being locked alone in a small cell for 23 hours a day, for months or years. Is this a punishment that our Constitution forbids as 'cruel and unusual'?