Elite: Supermax

July 1, 2007

SupermaxThe United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence is a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or the Alcatraz of the Rockies. It is operated by the federal government and is part of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex (FCC). ADX houses the prisoners who are deemed the most dangerous and in need of the tightest control.

There is only one supermax prison in the United States federal system. However, many states now have created supermax prisons; either as stand alone facilities, or as secure units within lower security prisons. The federal supermax prison is currently ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado. State supermax prisons include Pelican Bay in California and Tamms in Illinois. The USP in Marion, Illinois, was recently downgraded to a medium security facility.

ADX Florence is a federal prison, comprising a 37-acre, 490-bed complex at 5880 Highway 67, Florence, Colorado. It is one of 3 correctional facilities of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex (FFCC), each with a different overall security level.[1]

ADX Florence generally houses around 430 male prisoners, each assigned to one of six security levels.[2] ADX Florence was designed jointly by DLR Group Justice (a part of the architecture, engineering, planning and interiors firm specializing in incarceration-related facilities in the U.S.A.) and LKA Partners of Colorado Springs.[3]

About 22% of inmates have killed fellow prisoners in other correctional facilities; 35% have attempted to attack other prisoners or officers. As a result, most individuals are kept for at least 23 hours each day in solitary confinement. They are housed in a 7-by-12 ft (3.5-by-2 m) room, built behind a steel door and grate. The remaining free hour is spent exercising alone in a separate concrete chamber. Prisoners rarely see each other, and the inmates’ only direct human interaction is with correctional officers. Visiting from outside the prison is conducted through glass, with each prisoner in a separate chamber. Religious services are broadcast from a small chapel.

Part of the prison is a “stepdown” program, designed to encourage less antisocial behavior and eventually transfer prisoners out of the ADX and back to the Maximum Security population. The program is three years in length, each year allowing more freedom and social contact with other inmates. Any violation during the program means participants revert to year one.

Most cells’ furniture is made almost entirely out of poured concrete, including a desk, stool, and bed covered by a thin mattress. Each chamber contains a toilet that shuts off if plugged, a shower that runs on a timer to prevent flooding, and a sink missing a potentially dangerous tap. Rooms may also be fitted with polished steel mirrors bolted to the wall, an electric light, a radio, a 13-inch black and white television set that shows recreational, educational and religious programming,[4] and a cigarette lighter. These privileges can be taken away as punishment. The 4-in by 4-ft windows confuse the prisoner as to his specific location within the complex because one can see only the sky and roof. Telecommunication with the outside world is forbidden, and food is hand delivered by correctional officers.


Supermax Cell

The prison as a whole contains a multitude of motion detectors and cameras, 1,400 remote-controlled steel doors, and 12 ft (3.7 m) high razor wire fences. Laser beams, pressure pads, and attack dogs guard the area between the prison walls and razor wire.

Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber, lamented in a series of 2006 letters to a Colorado Springs newspaper that the ADX is meant to “inflict misery and pain.”[5]

Notable inmates
* Omar Abdel-Rahman, 34892-054, Islamist terrorist, nicknamed “The Blind Sheik”; involved in World Trade Center bombing planning in 1993
* Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso, 16802-050, mobster and former underboss of the Lucchese crime family
* Wadih el-Hage, 42393-054, conspirator in the 1998 United States embassy bombings
* Matthew F. Hale, 15177-424, white supremacist leader; convicted of soliciting the murder of a federal judge
* Robert Hanssen, 48551-083, FBI agent; convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia
* Larry Hoover, 86063-024, leader of the Gangster Disciples Nation based in Chicago
* Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, of the Gambino crime family
* Theodore Kaczynski, 04475-046, the “Unabomber”
* David Lane (deceased), 12873-057, Neo-Nazi leader, involvement in Alan Berg’s murder
* John Walker Lindh, 45426-083, dubbed “The American Taliban”
* Juan Matta-Ballesteros, 37671-133, drug trafficker, co-conspirator in Enrique Camarena case
* Zacarias Moussaoui, 51427-054, conspirator in the September 11, 2001 attacks
* Terry Nichols, 08157-031, Oklahoma City Bombing conspirator
* Richard Colvin Reid, 24079-038, Islamic terrorist, “Shoe Bomber”
* Eric Robert Rudolph, 18282-058, Christian Identity terrorist, Olympic Park bomber
* Dwight York, 17911-054, leader of the Nuwaubianists; convicted for child molestation, racketeering and financial reporting charges
* Ramzi Yousef, 03911-000, Islamist terrorist, 1993 World Trade Center bombing

July 1, 2007 | Filed Under Randomness

Comments

8 Responses to “Elite: Supermax”

  1. Dave on July 19th, 2007 8:04 am

    This is a great post. I searched Supermax on google blogsearch and this came up. I searched because my work is essentially like this. I work in a dimly-lit, windowless office doing tedious tasks all day and I wanted to read about how people in socially isolated existences survive. While this isn’t quite what I found, the layout of the office is pretty close to mine.

  2. andria on September 24th, 2007 7:13 pm

    Well, I would rather be dead that to live in such a small space…Is that really worth our tax dollars…

  3. Lis on September 25th, 2007 9:09 am

    I’ve heard that it’s more expensive to terminate a prisoner then to have him serve life in prison. I’m not exactly sure how that works out. I’ll research it more when I have a second.

    Thanks for posting Andria.

  4. Quinton on November 8th, 2007 8:07 pm

    MY OPINION IS THAT THIC FACILITY IS ONE OF THE SAFEST AND HEAVILY SECURED PRISON THAT PRISONERS SHOULD BE IN. I THINK THAT ALL THE INMATES THAT CALL THE PRISON HOME DESERVE TO BE THERE. PRISON IS NOT A FUN HOUSE, AND I ‘AM WRITING THIS AS A PEACE OF ADVICE TO MY SON WHO VISITS THE WEBSITE. HE IS 14, AND ALREADY HAS 4 JUVINIELLE ARREST IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO. OUR BLACK MALES NEED TO STAND UP, AND I’AM ONLY WRITING THIS AS A PEACE OF ADVICE.. THANK YOU…. :???:

  5. Lis on November 8th, 2007 11:11 pm

    Hi Quinton,
    Thanks for sharing what’s on your heart. Here’s a few things that come to mind.

    First and foremost I try best I can to keep this site kid friendly. So I hope your son continues to visit and enjoy the site.

    Secondly, I’m very sad to hear your son’s troubled past. I said a prayer for him tonight.

    And lastly, I do believe that America desperately needs black men to be men of character and responsibility. I hope your son grows up to be a respectful contributor to his family and community.

  6. jack on June 14th, 2008 7:16 pm

    i think this is the most secluded prison and one of the worst

  7. David Howard on June 17th, 2008 12:19 pm

    google: we got nuked on 9/11

  8. Ylanne Sorrows on August 27th, 2008 6:00 pm

    I think this prison is focused mainly on punishment. We should focus on punishing a wrong while working towards a better future–so rehabilitation.

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