The “Supermax” prison in Colorado is also known as “Alcatraz in the Rocky Mountains” because of its remote location and violent maximum security. (Getty Images)
The prison’s name is the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility , or ADX Florence, and is nicknamed Supermax. It is located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, in the arid desert lands of Colorado, United States.
“Alcatraz in the Rocky Mountains” is considered America’s highest-security prison and home to some of the country’s most notorious criminals.
This may include Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the former leader of a Mexican drug cartel, considered the number one enemy of society in Mexico and the United States.
El Chapo, who was called “ruthless and bloodthirsty” by the public prosecutor, may only be less famous than Pablo Escobar. El Chapo twice escaped from Mexico’s highest-security prison by digging a mile-long tunnel from his cell.
‘Alcatraz in the Rocky Mountains’
This nickname refers to the famous Alcatraz prison in California which is now closed. ADX Florence was built in 1994 and no one has ever escaped from there.
ADX Florence can accommodate 490 male inmates, and is part of the Florence Prison Complex, which consists of 3 prison buildings.
Nearly all of its convicts – now 376 – are serving multiple life sentences. They are isolated 23 hours a day, and their contact with humans is minimal.
“Prisons are generally depressing, but this one was created to disarm humanity,” said Duncan Levin, a criminal attorney and former federal prisons prosecutor. “This is one of the most remote places in the world. There’s no sign of life outside at all.”
According to Levin the interaction of the residents with each other is minimal to minimize the possibility of them injuring each other.
Each cell measuring seven square meters is equipped with a couch, table and bench. There is also a toilet-sink-shower combination made of stainless steel.
The walls are thick concrete, solid metal doors equipped with small holes for food and medicine. Daily interactions with guards, psychiatrists and other employees take place in the cells.
All units are located on the same side so the inmates cannot see each other when the door is opened. They get natural light from vertical windows 10 centimeters wide. From there they could see a piece of the sky.
In some cells there is a radio or television with educational or religious broadcasts. Sometimes there are films that have been selected by the officers, broadcast on a closed circuit.
