A high-security prison that has been operational for nearly 30 years takes pride in its flawless record of zero successful escape attempts. Inmates housed here are considered too dangerous for regular prisons due to the severity of their crimes.
One of the most famous former prisons of this type was Alcatraz, located in San Francisco, which operated until its closure in 1963. Known for housing notorious criminals like Al Capone and Meyer Harris Cohen, Alcatraz became famous when three inmates—brothers John and Clarence Anglin, along with Frank Morris—escaped just before it closed. Despite their daring escape, they were never found and are believed to have drowned in the San Francisco Bay.
After Alcatraz shut down, ADX Florence, the USA’s only supermax prison, was established in 1995. Today, it holds some of the most dangerous criminals of modern times, including Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman-Loera, shoe bomber Richard Reid, and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Inmates at ADX Florence are confined to their small, soundproof cells for 23 hours a day, with limited human contact. The New York Times reports that these cells measure just seven-by-12 feet (two-by-four meters) and are made of concrete. Unlike other prisons, where prisoners gather for meals, ADX Florence serves food through a slot in the cell doors to minimize inmate interaction. Escape is virtually impossible, especially for high-profile inmates like El Chapo, who previously escaped from Mexican prisons.
Prisoners at ADX Florence have limited sunlight, only visible through a small window in their cells. They are granted just one hour of out-of-cell time per day. While Alcatraz saw 14 escape attempts during its 29 years of operation, ADX Florence has had none in its nearly 30-year history.
The facility is known for its strict solitary confinement policies, heavily limiting prisoner interaction, according to Corrections1. El Chapo has claimed in a letter to District Court Judge Brian M. Cogan that he is prohibited from making phone calls or receiving visitors, stating, “The facility stopped giving me calls with my daughters. And I haven’t had calls with them for seven months.” His complaints, as reported by AP News, allege “unprecedented discrimination” against him.