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Supermax prison

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For the band Supermax, see Supermax (band).
For the third book of the CHERUB series, see CHERUB.

Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in some countries' prison systems.

History

An early form of supermax-style prison unit appeared in Australia in 1975, when "Katingal" was built inside the Long Bay Correctional Centre in Sydney. Dubbed the "electronic zoo" by inmates, "Katingal" was a super-maximum prison block with 40 prison cells having electronically-operated doors, surveillance cameras, and no windows. It was closed down two years later over human rights concerns, and was finally demolished in late 2006.

The term "supermax", however, originated in the United States as a contraction of "super-maximum," and the concept developed from the permanent lockdown of the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois dating from 1983 when two corrections officers at that prison were murdered by inmates in two separate incidents on the same day. Since then, some maximum security prisons have gone to full lockdown as well, while others have been built and dedicated to the Supermax standard. Supermax prisons are also known as SHU prisons (Security Housing Unit).

There is a nationwide trend in the United States to downgrade Supermax prisons, as has been done with the infamous Wallens Ridge State Prison, a former-supermax prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Other Supermax prisons that have gained notoriety for their harsh conditions and attendant litigation by inmates and advocates are the former Boscobel (in Wisconsin), now named the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility, Red Onion (in Western Virginia, the twin to Wallens Ridge), Tamms (in Illinois), and the Ohio State Penitentiary. Placement policies at the Ohio facility were recently the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case (Wilkinson v. Austin) [1] where the Court decided that there had to be some, but only very limited, due process involved in Supermax placement.

There is only one supermax prison in the United States federal system, ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado. However, many states now have created supermax prisons; either as stand alone facilities, or as secure units within lower security prisons. 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.

In September 2001, Australia opened a facility in the Goulburn Correctional Centre to the supermax standard. While its condition is an improvement over that of "Katingal" of the 1970s, this new facility is nonetheless designed on the same principle of sensory deprivation. It has been set up for 'AA' prisoners who are deemed a risk to national security, who, if allowed to mix with the general population would be at risk of inciting terrorism.[citation needed]

Prisoner life

In Supermax prisons, prisoners are generally allowed out of their cells for only an hour a day; often they are kept in solitary confinement. They receive their meals through "food ports" ("chuck holes") in the doors of their cells. Prisoners are given no work and very little access to leisure activities, though some categories of prisoners are allowed to have a television. When Supermax inmates are allowed to exercise, this may take place in a small, enclosed area where the prisoner will exercise alone.

Prisoners are under constant surveillance, usually with closed-circuit television cameras. Cell doors are usually opaque, while the cells may be windowless. Conditions are spartan, with poured concrete or metal furniture common. Often cell walls, and sometimes plumbing, are soundproofed to prevent communication between the inmates.

Controversy

Supermax and Security Housing Unit (SHU) prisons generate controversy, as some claim[2] that the living conditions in such facilities violate the United States Constitution, specifically, the Eighth Amendment's proscription against "cruel or unusual" punishments. In 1996, a United Nations team assigned to investigate torture described SHU conditions as "inhuman and degrading".[3]

A Supermax prison intended to fulfill such a role is the Federal ADMAX, or administrative maximum security, prison in Florence, Colorado, west of Pueblo. There, the U.S. government houses a number of convicted terrorists, gang leaders and similar prisoners; al-Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life without parole at Florence upon his conviction on May 4, 2006. Residents also include Theodore Kaczynski, a terrorist otherwise known as the Unabomber who once attacked via mail bombs, and Richard Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist jailed for life for attempting to detonate explosive materials in his shoes whilst on board an aircraft.

Prisons with supermax facilities

United States

Most of these facilities only contain supermax wings or sections, with other parts of the facility under lesser security measures.

Attica Correctional Facility - Attica, New York Upstate Correctional Facility; Malone, New York

Maximum security prisons in other countries

Well-known supermax inmates

Books and media portraying maximum security units

See also

References

  1. ^ Wilkinson v. Austin 04-495 (2005), Link to case text
  2. ^ PrisonActivist.org – California's Security Housing Units
  3. ^ Paglen.com – Security Housing Unit
  4. ^ Skiba, Katherine M. (1995-04-02). "State sending officials to prison to bring home ideas". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 2007-12-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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