Thursday, February 2, 2023

USP Florence ADMAX - 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'

The USP Administrative Maximum Facility, known as  Florence ADX, is an American federal prison near Florence, Colorado. USP Florence ADMAX, is a “supermax” penitentiary. Prisoners are searched, shackled, and escorted by multiple officers each time they enter or leave their soundproof cells, which are 7 feet by 12 feet. Inmates are confined 23 hours per day. A window 42 inches high and 4 inches wide allows natural light but prisoners can't see beyond the building.
Cells have unmovable stools and desks made of concrete.

A recreation hour is allowed in an outdoor cage slightly larger than the cell. Inside the cage, only the sky is visible. Meals are delivered to cells.
Everything at USP Florence ADMAX is about control. High profile inmates are assigned to the Special Security Unit, also called the H-Unit. These cells are reserved for inmates with DOJ-imposed Special Administrative Measures intended to strictly limit all communications with the outside world.

"As soon as they come through the door ... you see it in their faces," former ADX warden Robert Hood said. "The Supermax is life after death, it's long term, it's worse than death."