All the Bad Apples in One Barrel

Since the early 1980s, the United States has experienced a huge growth in its prisoner population. In 1975, the U.S. prison population was about 200,000, whereas in 2005 about 1.4 million were incarcerated. As the prison population grew, so did the problems that corrections officers face. One of the most commonly cited problems was prisoner violence. A prevailing view was that a few (really) bad apples were causing most of the problems. Why not build a super-strong prison to hold all the really bad apples?

Prisons have always had "prisons within the prison" to hold the worst of the inmates. Usually called "administrative segregation," the most violent or escape-prone prisoners were held in solitary confinement for their own safety and the safety of the institution. Prisoners who could not be controlled in other institutions were herded together in the notorious Alcatraz facility in California. After Alcatraz closed in 1963, the federal prison in Marion, Illinois was where the most dangerous prisoners were sent. Then, on October 22, 1983, two officers in the Marion facility were killed by two inmates. As they were being moved, the prisoners placed their hands into the cells of accomplices, who used stolen keys to uncuff them. The assailants then grabbed shanks and killed the officers. The director of Federal Prisons, Norman Carlson, used this attack as an example of why a tougher facility was needed.

Supermax prisons were originally designed to cure a number of ills in corrections. Supermax prisons grew from a general "get tough on crime" philosophy. Supermax prisons would increase the overall safety of general prisons by removing the most hardened offenders. The influence of gangs would be reduced by removing the leaders and recruiters. The threat of supermax confinement would have a deterrent effect on potential inmate offenders. The officers in traditional prisons would benefit because the most troublesome inmates would be removed. The general prison population would benefit because they would be subjected to less intimidation and violence, and there would be fewer lockdowns. Supermax prisoners would benefit because they would not have the opportunities to commit offenses that would lengthen their sentences, and they would be tended to by officers who are specially trained for their needs. Prison officials were glad they had a place to send their most disruptive prisoners. The public would be safer because the supermax prisons were "escape-proof." Politicians did not seem to mind bringing well-paying jobs (with benefits) to constituents in otherwise generally isolated areas. Supermax prisons seemed like a great idea all around.

So over the last two decades, at least 57 supermax prisons have been built in over 40 states. Currently, about 20,000 inmates are housed in supermax prisons. Each supermax prison represents a huge investment. The supermax prison is more expensive to build and operate. The facilities have high-tech (expensive) security features on the doors and gates. The walls, floors, ceilings and doors are built out of reinforced materials. To minimize officer-inmate contact, complex electronic systems and technologies are employed. There are no trusties (inmates who are believed to be low-risk, and have jobs inside or nearby the prison that accord them a greater degree of freedom), so correctional staff must provide meals. Moving an inmate requires multiple officers. Inmates are incarcerated in single cell units, about seven by twelve feet, for up to 23 hours a day. The staff-to-prisoner ratio is usually much higher than in conventional prisons. There are few if any programs available to the prisoners; there is very little constructive activity available on a daily basis. Very few visits are permitted and there are rarely contact visits; on a daily basis there is little human contact. Overall, a supermax prison may cost two to three times more than a traditional prison.

Most felt this was a good investment. Why have each smaller prison build and staff a higher-security area? Send all the worst offenders to one central location. It was widely believed that supermax prisons would house the worst of the worst who would never see daylight again. This has turned out to be untrue. A 1997 study by the National Institute of Corrections reveals that different states use supermax prisons for different reasons. There is no set definition of "supermax prison." There is no federal standard for entry or release to a supermax prison. Some states use supermax when there is a shortage of segregation beds; if the space was available at the traditional facility, the prisoner would not be sent to the more expensive institution. Other states use supermax prisons interchangeably with their own segregation units. Some supermax prisons hold inmates serving determinate sentences, whereas other inmates are held indeterminately. Throughout the country, supermax prisons are used for a variety of purposes.

The growing use of supermax prisons may be creating problems for law enforcement officers all over the country. The money spent on supermax prisons reduces the money available to provide bed space for more prisons; less bed space means more offenders on the streets. The actual deterrent effect has been questioned because there are so few beds in supermax, offenders know it is highly unlikely they will ever be sent there. Some prisoners actually try to get sent to supermax to enhance their prison reputations as tough guys. Many prisoners may develop anti-social behavior due to their long term isolation from human contact. There are few prison programs available for inmates in supermax; even the programs available are rarely used because there are no incentives (such as parole credits) to participate. Long term isolation may not only contribute to anti-social behavior, but has been shown to cause mental illness. Ultimately, a proportion of supermax prisoners are released. Some departments allow supermax inmates to be released directly back to the streets when their sentence is up.

It is not hard to see how the reentry of anti-social, violent, possibly mentally ill ex-convicts to a community may have a detrimental effect. The supermax prisoner has been isolated and has received no vocational training, so he is violent and virtually unemployable. The community is likely to experience a higher level of unemployment, street level disorder, health costs and ultimately, crime. The cost incurred by the community should be considered when building a supermax prison. Ultimately, it will be the street level law officer who will have to locate and subdue the recidivist supermax inmate.

Historically, the American corrections system has moved away from extended solitary confinement. The first penitentiaries, like Philadelphia's Walnut Street Jail in1790, were places where offenders were left alone in a room to reflect on their sins and do penance. Early studies (1821) indicated that isolation from human contact led to mental illness. Since then, the corrections system has evolved away from extended solitary confinement.

Proponents feel that supermax prisons are the only way to deal with America's increasingly violent and chaotic prison population. Opponents can point to studies that show supermax prisons increase mental illness. Considering the huge expense to build and maintain supermax prisons and the chances that they are creating mentally ill prisoners, is it really worth it to put all the bad apples in one barrel?