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The Origins of Supermax
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,692 ✭✭✭✭
There is a fascinating book which describes the origins of "Supermax," the new Federal prison in Florence Colorado, which will be the new home of 9-11 conspirator Mossaoui.
This book is "The Hot House" by Pete Earley.
It all started at the Federal Pen in Marion Illinois. Marion housed an inmate named Thomas Silverstein. Silverstein has been called "The most dangerous inmate in the Federal prisons."
Silverstein had been convicted of murdering 3 inmates while in the Federal pen, and was serving 3 life sentences. Silverstein had been having a dispute with a guard named Merle Clutts.
On Oct 22, 1983, while being escorted to a shower by Clutts and two other officers, Silverstein was slipped a handcuff key by a fellow member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Silverstein unlocked his cuffs, and was then given a shank by another inmate.
Silverstein stabbed Clutts to death.
Later that day, another inmate, Silverstein's buddy, stabbed another guard to death.
Marion was put on round-the-clock lockdown.
Officials decided they needed a more secure facility to handle dangerous inmates, and the idea of Supermax was born.
At Supermax, all inmates are held in solitary confinement in underground, soundproof cells.
They have no contact with other prisoners.
List of most notorious prisoners at Supermax Florence:
Matthew F. Hale (White Supremacist convicted of soliciting the murder of a federal judge)
Robert Hanssen (FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia.)
Charles Harrelson (murdered a judge)
Larry Hoover (Leader of the Black Gangster Disciples Nation, based in Chicago)
Theodore Kaczynski (The "Unabomber")
David Lane (murdered liberal Jewish talk radio host Alan Berg)
Zacarias Moussaoui (conspirator in the September 11, 2001 attack)
Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City Bombing conspirator)
Omar Abdel-Rahman (Islamist terrorist, nicknamed "The Blind Sheik"; Involved in World Trade Center bombing planning in 1993.
Richard Reid ("Shoe bomber"; Islamist terrorist)
Eric Robert Rudolph (Olympic Park bomber)
Ramzi Yousef (Islamist terrorist, 1993 World Trade Center bombing)
Brian Askew (Co-Leader of the RCC)
After murdering Officer Clutts, Silverstein was transferred to the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, known to inmates as "The Hot House."
Earley's book is a fascinating look at life in The Hot House. Earley got unrestricted access to the prison for several months. He even managed several hours of interviews with Silverstein, who was being kept in a room 60 feet underground, in which the lights were kept on 24 hours a day.
This book is "The Hot House" by Pete Earley.
It all started at the Federal Pen in Marion Illinois. Marion housed an inmate named Thomas Silverstein. Silverstein has been called "The most dangerous inmate in the Federal prisons."
Silverstein had been convicted of murdering 3 inmates while in the Federal pen, and was serving 3 life sentences. Silverstein had been having a dispute with a guard named Merle Clutts.
On Oct 22, 1983, while being escorted to a shower by Clutts and two other officers, Silverstein was slipped a handcuff key by a fellow member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Silverstein unlocked his cuffs, and was then given a shank by another inmate.
Silverstein stabbed Clutts to death.
Later that day, another inmate, Silverstein's buddy, stabbed another guard to death.
Marion was put on round-the-clock lockdown.
Officials decided they needed a more secure facility to handle dangerous inmates, and the idea of Supermax was born.
At Supermax, all inmates are held in solitary confinement in underground, soundproof cells.
They have no contact with other prisoners.
List of most notorious prisoners at Supermax Florence:
Matthew F. Hale (White Supremacist convicted of soliciting the murder of a federal judge)
Robert Hanssen (FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia.)
Charles Harrelson (murdered a judge)
Larry Hoover (Leader of the Black Gangster Disciples Nation, based in Chicago)
Theodore Kaczynski (The "Unabomber")
David Lane (murdered liberal Jewish talk radio host Alan Berg)
Zacarias Moussaoui (conspirator in the September 11, 2001 attack)
Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City Bombing conspirator)
Omar Abdel-Rahman (Islamist terrorist, nicknamed "The Blind Sheik"; Involved in World Trade Center bombing planning in 1993.
Richard Reid ("Shoe bomber"; Islamist terrorist)
Eric Robert Rudolph (Olympic Park bomber)
Ramzi Yousef (Islamist terrorist, 1993 World Trade Center bombing)
Brian Askew (Co-Leader of the RCC)
After murdering Officer Clutts, Silverstein was transferred to the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, known to inmates as "The Hot House."
Earley's book is a fascinating look at life in The Hot House. Earley got unrestricted access to the prison for several months. He even managed several hours of interviews with Silverstein, who was being kept in a room 60 feet underground, in which the lights were kept on 24 hours a day.
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