Supermax (prison standard)

Exterior shot of the Supermax ADMAX Florence

Supermax is the abbreviation for super-maximum security , a prison standard from the USA . In the prison system of the United States , a distinction is made between minimum, low, medium and high security, as well as administrative (to which the Supermaximum Security Prisons belong). The latter is a kind of high security custody for serious criminals.

history

The Supermax prison standard was developed after two prison guards were independently killed by inmates on the same day in 1983 at the Maximum Security Asylum of Illinois State Prison ( Marion ). Since that day, some high-security prisons in the USA have switched to the Supermax standard.

The first prison to be designed and built entirely to this standard is ADX Florence Federal Prison in Colorado . It is considered the safest prison in the world by current prison standards. Many international human rights organizations , however, have strong reservations about the ADMAX and the Supermax in general.

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In general, placement in a supermax prison equates to almost complete isolation from the outside world. Communication between inmates is also prevented within the cell block , so it is solitary confinement . Prisoners remain locked in their solitary cells for 22 to 23 hours a day ; the only social contact they have in prison is with the guards. The prison inmates are video-monitored 24 hours a day , regardless of whether they are in their cell , in an outside cage facing the courtyard or in a shower.

The cells are approximately 3.5 x 2 m in size and equipped with special, soundproof doors to prevent communication between the inmates. There is only a few pieces of furniture, these are made of reinforced concrete and are anchored in the floor so that they cannot be moved. The shower is time-controlled. Windows are - if available - very small and placed in such a way that only the sky can be seen and orientation on the prison grounds is almost impossible.

The doors throughout the area are remote-controlled in most of the Supermax prisons. The fences, which usually surround the property in several rows, are under tension . As is common in most prisons in the United States, prisoners must wear uniform. This clothing usually consists of a colored overall made of tear-proof, fire-resistant materials.

criticism

The Supermax and Security Housing Unit (SHU) prisons are controversial; there are those who say the living conditions are in violation of the United States Constitution . The 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution is particularly affected. This prohibits cruel and unusual punishments 'cruel and unusual punishments' .

In 1996 a United Nations commission found that the punishment in the SHUs was "cruel and degrading." In 2011, the New York City Bar Association found that conditions in Supermax prisons were torture under international law and that they were "cruel and unusual punishments" under US law. In 2012, in a trial against the Federal Bureau of Prisons , the court found that prisoners were chronically ill-treated, that access to medical departments was restricted, and that prisoners with mental illnesses were inadequately cared for.

US prisons with supermax standard (selection)

• California
  • Pelican Bay State Prison - Crescent City , California
• Colorado
  • US Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX Florence) - Florence , Colorado
• Florida
  • Florida State Prison - Raiford , Florida
• Georgia
  • United States Penitentiary - Atlanta , Georgia
• Louisiana
  • Louisiana State Penitentiary - West Feliciana Parish , Louisiana
• Minnesota
  • Minnesota Correctional Facility Oak Park Heights - Oak Park Heights , Minnesota
• Mississippi
  • Mississippi State Penitentiary - Sunflower County , Mississippi (Unit 32)
• New Jersey
  • New Jersey State Prison - Trenton , New Jersey
  • East Jersey State Prison - Woodbridge
• new York
  • Attica Correctional Facility - Attica , New York
  • Sing Sing Correctional Facility - Ossining , New York
• Texas
  • Allan B. Polunsky Unit (formerly Terrell Unit ) - West Livingston, Polk County , Texas
• Utah
  • Utah State Prison - Draper , Utah

Individual evidence

1. ↑ PrisonActivist.org ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - California's Security Housing Units 
2. ↑ Paglen.com ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Security Housing Unit 
3. ^ Committee on International Human Rights: Supermax Confinement in US Prisons. (PDF) New York City Bar Association, September 2011, accessed January 14, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Cunningham v. Federal Bureau of Prisons , Civil Action 1: 12-cv-01570
5. ↑ Andrew Cohen: An American Gulag. Descending into Madness at Supermax. In: The Atlantic. June 18, 2012, accessed June 20, 2012 .