ADX Florence

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The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, CO. is a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, USA. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or The Alcatraz of the Rockies.^[1] 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.

Contents 1 History 2 The prison 2.1 Reporters' first-ever tour 3 Criticisms 3.1 Understaffing 3.2 Lax security 4 Notable inmates 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

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ADX Florence was constructed as a response to the October 22, 1983, correctional officer killings at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. Two inmates were able to independently kill their accompanying guards. Relatively lax security procedures allowed each prisoner, while walking down a hall, to turn to the side and approach a particular cell so an accomplice could subsequently unlock his handcuffs with a stolen key and provide him with a knife.

As a result, the prison in Marion went into "permanent lockdown" and entirely transformed itself into a "control unit" prison. This penal construction and operation theory dictates that inmates remain in solitary confinement for 22–23 hours each day. They do not allow communal dining, exercising, or religious services. These practices are used as administrative measures to keep prisoners under control.

Following the killings, Norman Carlson, then director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, successfully persuaded the federal government that a more secure type of prison needed to be designed. There was a need to isolate uncontrollable prisoners from both officers and each other for the sake of security and safety. Marion became a model for the subsequent construction of ADX Florence, a facility built specifically and entirely as a control unit prison.

ADX Florence was opened in November 1994. The residents in Florence's surrounding area, Fremont County, gladly welcomed the prison in a time of economic hardship. At the time, the county was already home to nine existing prisons. However, the lure of between 750 to 900 permanent jobs, in addition to another 1,000 temporary jobs during the prison's construction, led residents in the area to raise $160,000 to purchase 600 acres (2.4 km²) for the new prison. Hundreds of people attended the groundbreaking. Construction of ADX Florence cost over $60 million.

[edit] The prison

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.^[2]

ADX Florence generally houses around 430 male prisoners, each assigned to one of six security levels.^[3] ADX Florence was designed jointly by DLR Group (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 ft (2.13 m) by 12 ft (3.66 m) room, built behind a steel door and grate. The remaining free hour is spent exercising alone in a separate concrete chamber. Prisoners seldom see one another, 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]. These privileges can be taken away as punishment. The 4 in (0.10 m) by 4 ft (1.22 m) 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.

The prison as a whole contains a multitude of motion detectors and cameras, 1,400 remote-controlled steel doors, and 12 ft (3.66 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]

[edit] Reporters' first-ever tour

On September 14, 2007, the first-ever media tour of the U.S. Bureau of Prison's Administrative Maximum prison, or "Supermax," was allowed. Attending reporters remarked on "an astonishing and eerie quiet" within the prison as well as a sense of safety due to the rigorous security measures in place within the facility.^[6]

[edit] Criticisms

[edit] Understaffing

In 2006, the corrections officers' union filed a grievance over staffing levels at ADX Florence, and critics asked Congress to funnel more money for staffing. Of the 240 officer positions originally allotted to ADX Florence, and of the 221 currently allotted, only 186 are filled. The union contends the understaffing has led to dangerously unsafe conditions for both staff and inmates. In 2005, two prisoners were beaten to death by other inmates, the first slayings ADX Florence has seen. Nationwide, the Bureau of Prisons has pledged to reduce its 35,000-strong workforce by 3118 corrections officers.^[7]

[edit] Lax security

Related to the understaffing problems, recent reports allege that security at ADX Florence is less than optimal, specifically in the monitoring of prisoners' communications. A Justice Department inquiry was initiated when an ADX inmate, Mohammed Salameh, was caught by Spanish authorities sending letters to a terrorist cell with links to suspects in the 2004 Madrid Train Bombings.

More recently, two inmates, members of the Aryan Brotherhood, were convicted of conspiracy charges that included instigating the murder of two African-American prisoners at a Pennsylvania prison by sending secret messages written in grapefruit juice. In 2006 gangster Ruben Castro was served a federal indictment for continuing to run his Los Angeles drug gang from within his ADX cell.

According to a federal arbitrator, "Inmate cells [are] no longer being searched on a regular basis due to lack of staff."^[8]

[edit] Notable inmates

Main article: List of prisoners at ADX Florence

• 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
• 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, Islamist 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
• Timothy McVeigh (deceased), Oklahoma City Bombing (executed on June 11, 2001)
• Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, 26301-053, an American drug trafficker and organized crime figure.
• H. Rap Brown, 99974-555, former civil rights activist convicted of murdering a Georgia sheriff deputy.
• Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix, 00677-748, Tijuana Cartel leader.
• Thomas Silverstein, 14634-116, convicted of murdering guard Merle E. Clutts
• Luis Felipe, 14067-074, founder of the New York chapter of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation
• Howard "Pappy" Mason, 24651-053, drug trafficker who ordered the murder of police officer Eddie Byrne.
• Barry Mills, leading member of the Aryan Brotherhood.
• Charles Harrelson (deceased), 02582-016, Texan hitman, convicted of murdering federal judge, father of actor Woody Harrelson (died on March 15, 2007 of a heart attack)
• Jose Padilla, 20796-424, convicted of aiding terrorists.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ADX Florence is at coordinates 38°21′32″N 105°06′04″W / 38.359, -105.101 (ADX Florence)Coordinates: 38°21′32″N 105°06′04″W / 38.359, -105.101 (ADX Florence)
• End of the line
• Official website of Federal Bureau of Prisons and its section on ADX Florence. Information on visiting is on the linked PDF