ADX Florence, the one that is located in Florence, Colorado, is known for its high security. Besides, it is also known as the Administrative Maximum Facility. It means it is the most secure prison in the United States. The facility houses the most dangerous and violent criminals, including notorious gang leaders, terrorists, and high-profile inmates. For anyone who is wondering about what is inside the ADX Florence, make sure to read everything well.
Inside ADX Florence
In response to violent or aggressive behavior, inmates at the other prisons are placed in solitary confinement for a short period of time. This kind of place is called administrative segregation, which is also more known as the hole. At the ADX Florence, this place is not special because the entire prison is basically the hole.
According to The New York Times, inmates at the ADX Florence are placed in 7-by-12-foot or 2-by4-meter cells almost a day. The typical accommodations include:
- Poured concrete bed
- Immovable concrete desk and stool
- Toilet, sink and water fountain combined into a unit
- Vestibule for added isolation and security
- Window looks out onto inner courtyard (only four inch wide)
- Black-and-white TV that shows closed-circuit classes and religious services
- Showers that are on timers to prevent flooding
Apparently, all the cell furniture is made of solid concrete because the inmates at ADX Florence are not the kinds of inmates that can be trusted. The items that are made from such material include a concrete chair, a concrete writing desk, and a concrete slab with a thin foam pad on top of it that serves as a bed. To prevent them from breaking down the furniture and turning it into a weapon, everything is also immovable. As for the bathroom, it consists of a toilet or sink and a shower that turns on automatically three times a week.
If the inmates behave well, there may be a TV inside their cells because these inmates are usually given the right to buy such a thing. For the TV itself, do not expect the luxurious one. The only one that is allowed is a small, black-and-white TV with a built-in radio. Aside from that, these “good inmates” are also given permission to borrow books and magazines from the prison library. In addition, they are allowed to have phone calls limited to 15 minutes a month with their family members. If that is not enough, their family members or friends can also visit them five times each month under strict circumstances.
As mentioned before, inmates are placed in their cells for almost a day or for 23 hours. The only time that they are allowed to go out of their cells is when exercise time, which is about an hour. Most of the time, they are handcuffed and shackled at their feet. Sometimes, they are also taken to an empty room that has a single pull-up bar or to outside or the yard where they are locked alone inside a cage.
A man who used to be a warden at the ADX Florence named Robert Hood talked to The New York Times stating that this facility was not designed for humanity, especially when the inmates are forced to be in a room for 23 hours a day with only a slit of a window. He said that it is not designed for rehabilitation either, which is terrible.
When he was interviewed by The Boston Globe, Hood stated that walking through a modern prison facility where all of the inmates are locked down is scary. He added that ADX Florence is worse than all prisons that he has ever seen. He called this prison a clear version of hell.
Actually, Robert Hood is not the only one that thinks that way about ADX Florence. Critics of the ADX Florence and other Supermax prisons also share the similar thought as him. They label the place as a cruel and unusual place. The United Nations even qualifies it as torture.
Bottom Line
As a facility that houses the most dangerous and violent criminals, including notorious gang leaders, terrorists, and high-profile inmates, it is not surprising that ADX Florence has strict protocols, impenetrable walls, and isolated existence. However, it does not mean it has the right to forget the importance of human rights.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
