What Is a Supermax Prison?
Supermax prisons are super-maximum, hyper-secure facilities that house the most violent, dangerous and escape-prone inmates in a prison system. Twenty-five years ago, the United States had one supermax prison, but today 44 states have prisons with supermax units and the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, or ADX, at Florence, Colorado, is entirely a supermax facility. The shift toward high-tech supermax facilities began after scores of both inmates and guards were murdered in a wave of violence that gripped U.S. prisons during the 1970s and 80s. Solitary confinement and lockdowns gradually led to supermax prisons where what's often called "the worst of the worst" offenders could be isolated in order to keep the rest of the prison population, its staff and the public safe.
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Life at a Supermax Prison
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Solitary confinement sets supermax prisons apart from other correctional institutions. Although other prisons may use solitary confinement as a limited disciplinary measure, isolation is part of the supermax prison design. Inmates spend 23 hours a day isolated in soundproof, concrete cells that average 100 square feet. At ADX, during the one hour a day allotted for exercise, inmates are shackled and let out alone in what has been described as an empty built-in swimming pool. Meals are usually delivered through a small opening in a cell door, and visits from prison chaplains and counselors are often conducted through a double set of security doors.
High-tech Incareration
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High-tech security systems are also an integral part of a supermax prison. Almost everything in a supermax prison cell from the overhead lights to the lock on the doors is operated by remote control from a guard station. Inmates are monitored 24 hours a day by closed circuit television cameras and staff often communicate with inmates over a loudspeaker. In addition to security cameras, the ADX supermax prison is equipped with 1,400 remote control steel doors and motion detectors. Between the actual prison buildings and the 12-foot razor wire fences that surround the ADX complex are laser beam sensor and pressure pads, a security device activated by weight.
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Effects of Isolation
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The prolonged period of solitary confinement or isolation in supermax prisons have drawn loud and persistent criticism from many human rights activists. Many argue that human interaction is a critical component of human existence and the deprivation of human contact in supermax prisons is cruel and unusual punishment. Some have even defined it as torture. Studies on the effects of prolonged periods of isolation on inmates show many became withdrawn, depressed, lethargic with some becoming psychotic and suicidal.
The Benefits of Supermax Prisons
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Despite objections from human rights groups, some believe supermax prisons have clear benefits. According to a study by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center, 95 percent of prison wardens agree supermax prisons maintain safety, control and order throughout the prison system by isolating problem prisoners prone to violence. According to the wardens, working conditions are safer for prison staff and the quality of life for the general inmate population is improved.
Limitations
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Popular opinion appears to favor the use of supermax prisons for terrorists, leading organized crime figures, sexual predators and those who commit particularly cruel and violent crimes. However, those high-profile prisoners are a small fraction of the supermax prison population. Today, more than 25,000 inmates, or two percent of the U.S. prison population, are serving their sentences in supermax facilities. Despite those numbers, there is no general consensus among prison administrators on the type of inmate who should be sent to a supermax prisons. And while an overwhelming majority of wardens feel supermax prisons increase both prison and public safety, only a third of wardens believe they rehabilitate prisoners before they are released back into society.
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References
- Photo Credit prison image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
