Extreme Lockdown: Colorado’s Unparalleled Prison Security
Because of the people that call prison home and the need to keep them out of the general public, all prisons must have extremely high security. However, you also hear about people breaking out of prisons from time to time. Let's not forget that notorious drug kingpin El Chapo escaped twice.
You may or may not know it, but El Chapo now calls Colorado home as he was last moved to a prison that no one has ever escaped from, the home of the worst of the worst, ADX Florence.
Colorado's ADX Florence Supermax Prison
Colorado's ADX Florence is a prison of the highest security which is why it's called a Supermax. The prison was built in 1994 just outside of Florence, Colorado in a desolate area. It takes up 49 acres of land, has room for 490 inmates but most recently is said to be home to only 343.
However, those 343 inmates that are in ADX Florence are there for a reason. Supermax is home to notorious criminals like the aforementioned El Chapo, the Unabomber, the Underwear Bomber, the 1993 World Trade Center Bomber, and Michael "Dr. Death" Swano, to name a few. The main reason that ADX Florence is home to so many notorious criminals is that it is said to be impenetrable.
What is Security Like at Colorado's ADX Florence?
There are six levels of security at ADX Florence called general population, special housing or "H-Unit," special security unit, control unit, intermediate/transitional unit, and Range 13, which is the most secure.
Inmates in H-Unit are typically terrorists and aren't even allowed to shower but rather are hosed down by guards a few times a week.
Range 13 is made up of four cells located in H-Unit with one bed, one shower, one toilet, no blind spots in the security camera range, and everything in the cell is made of concrete and completely soundproof. There are also tiny, long windows in the cells, and the inmates are inside these cells for 23 hours a day, alone.
The cells also have what are known as "pressure pads" which track an inmate's movement so that the guards monitoring the prisoner knows exactly where in the cell their body is at all times.