Sunday, October 25, 2026

Florence Admax - 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'

The USP Administrative Maximum Facility; Florence ADX, is a 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. High profile inmates are assigned to the Special Security Unit, also called the H-Unit. H-Unit cells are reserved for inmates with DOJ-imposed Special Administrative Measures intended to strictly limit all communications with the outside world.

A recreation hour is allowed in an outdoor cage. Meals are delivered to cells.
Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán will spend the rest of his life in H-Unit.

Everything at USP Florence ADMAX is about control. "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."