4. And the Ruling Is...

Since 1866, there have been a total of about 35 court cases that have been taken to the Supreme Court. The most recent of these cases (Hope v. Pelzer) took place in 2003.

For many of these cases, judges have deemed solitary confinement to be detrimental to those with pre-existing mental health issues, the same thing hasn't been said about the use of isolation as a whole. Solitary confinement hasn't yet been determined to rise up to the standard of mistreatment needed to be considered cruel and unusual punishment and violate the eighth amendment.

Sources:

• http://solitarywatch.com/facts/faq/
• http://solitarywatch.com/resources/u-s-supreme-court-cases/