Justices Won’t Weigh Privilege Denials for Inmate in Solitary

The US Supreme Court won’t consider how far prison officials can go in further punishing inmates serving time in solitary confinement in an appeal that raised allegations of cruel and unusual punishment.

The case the justices refused to review on Monday centered around Michael Johnson’s claim that his denial of exercise privileges while in isolation for more than three years cumulatively in an Illinois prison was excessive punishment in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights.

Limited access to the exercise yard in multiple increments of three, two, and one month stretches were in response to repeated and serious misconduct, which ...