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BOP Supermax Lawsuit Claims Horrific Abuse of Mentally Ill at ADX
Loaded on Nov. 15, 2012
by Alan Prendergast
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2012, page 42
“A Clean Version of Hell” – that’s what a 2007 segment of 60 Minutes called the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado, or ADX, home to some of the world’s most notorious murderers and terrorists. But according to a grimly detailed lawsuit filed in Denver on June 18, …
Filed under:
Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness),
Suicides.
Location:
Colorado.
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More from this issue:
- Bailing on Justice: The Dysfunctional System of Using Money to Buy Pretrial Freedom, by Tracy Velázquez
- Guantanamo Detainees Cost $800,000 Annually
- $15,700 Plus Boombox to Settle California Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Liberty for Sale: Should Ohio Prisoners be Commodities in a For-Profit Venture?, by German Lopez
- PLN Readers Flood the FCC with Letters; Campaign Fights for Prison Phone Justice, by Mel Motel
- The Other Death Sentence: More than 100,000 Americans are destined to spend their final years in prison. Can we afford it?, by James Ridgeway
- Private Prison Companies Use Political Influence to Increase Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- California Prison Psychologist Faked Her Own Rape
- $60,411 Attorney Fee Award in Maryland Prisoner’s Public Information Act Suit
- Hawaii AG Study Confirms Ineffectiveness of Mainland Private Prisons, by Joe Watson
- Florida Jail Abandons Postcard-Only Mail Policy, Pays Prisoners’ Attorney Fees
- Prisoner’s Coma-Inducing Latex Allergy Triggers Lawsuit, Burning Questions, by Alan Prendergast
- State Auditor Finds Flaws in Texas Criminal Justice Information System, by Matthew Clarke
- California Settles Suit with Prison Guards’ Union for $3.5 Million, Interest-Free
- $20,000 Settlement in Arkansas Jail Prisoner’s Failure to Protect Suit
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Wisconsin Transgender Prisoner Treatment Ban
- New York City Pays $2 Million to Settle Suit Over Death of Juvenile Killed by Other Prisoners Acting as Guards’ Enforcers
- $2,500 Settlement in Illinois Prisoner’s Telephone Disconnect Suit – After Nine Years
- Pennsylvania Guards Charged with Physical, Sexual Abuse of Prisoners
- Pennsylvania Jail Major Pleads Guilty to Beating Prisoner After Escape Attempt
- BOP Supermax Lawsuit Claims Horrific Abuse of Mentally Ill at ADX, by Alan Prendergast
- Vietnam Pardons 10,244 Prisoners but Few Dissidents, by Derek Gilna
- Nebraska Refuses to Return Execution Drug to Swiss Company
- Iowa Reconsidering Costs, Benefits of Sex Offender Supervision Law, by Joe Watson
- Los Angeles Jail Pays $161,000 Settlement for Juvenile Injured Due to Negligent Supervision
- News in Brief
More from Alan Prendergast:
- Mission Creep: Prison Telecoms Scramble to Extend Their Reach, July 13, 2022
- At the Federal Supermax, When Does Isolation Become Torture?, Sept. 2, 2018
- Hep C: The Deadliest Killer in Colorado’s Prisons is a Curable Virus, June 30, 2017
- Welcome to America, Aug. 23, 2016
- Supermax Censorship Claimed by Prison Legal News, Dec. 2, 2015
- Prisoner’s Coma-Inducing Latex Allergy Triggers Lawsuit, Burning Questions, Nov. 15, 2012
- BOP Supermax Lawsuit Claims Horrific Abuse of Mentally Ill at ADX, Nov. 15, 2012
- How Victim Rights Shaped Spending, Laws and the Future of Punishment in Colorado, March 15, 2012
- Colorado CCA Prison Uprising: New Details of Unheeded Warnings Emerge in Epic Lawsuit, Feb. 15, 2012
- Mother Questions Her Son’s “Natural” Death in Colorado CCA Prison, Feb. 15, 2012
More from these topics:
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- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence at Virginia BOP Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Discrimination (Transgender).
- $550,000 Settlement After Juvenile’s Suicide at Charlotte Jail, July 15, 2025. Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Failure to Protect (Juveniles).
- Washington’s Continuing Competency Crisis Strains Jails, June 1, 2025. Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Retired California Prison Guard Killed in Colorado Jail, June 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Watchdogs Fault Nebraska Prisons for Suicide Response, Overpaid Staff, June 1, 2025. Suicides, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- $500,000 for Colorado Detainee Dropped On His Face by Jailers, June 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).

