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Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison
Loaded on Oct. 26, 2015
by Mark Binelli
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2015, page 1
Filed under:
Lockdowns,
Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement,
Mental Health,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
Location:
Colorado.
Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison
by Mark Binelli, New York Times Magazine
For years, conditions inside the United States’ only federal supermax facility were largely a mystery. But a landmark lawsuit is finally revealing the harsh world within.
In prison, Rodney Jones told me, everyone had a nickname. Jones’s was Saint …
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More from this issue:
- Prisoner Admits to Scheme to Defraud Catholic Church, Gets 33 More Months in Prison, by Mark Wilson
- ACLU Prompts Kansas Jail to Change Religious Meals, Mail Policies, by Joe Watson
- $10 Million Lawsuit Filed against Tennessee Jail in Hanging Death, by David Reutter
- Florida’s IQ Rule for Death Penalty Exemption Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- California Court Finds “Horrific” Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Prisoner’s Lawsuit Dismissed Due to Abusive Language
- Ohio Appellate Court Orders Review of State Budget Over Private Prison Sale, by Gary Hunter
- Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison, by Mark Binelli
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Jail in Knoxville, TN, by Alex Friedmann
- Ninth Circuit: Damages Suit Not Heck-barred by Retrial, by Mark Wilson
- Medicaid Helps Ohio Slash Prison Medical Costs, by Christopher Zoukis
- $150,000 Award after New York Prisoner’s Family Denied Right of Sepulcher, by Mark Wilson
- Ohio Limits Solitary Confinement for Juvenile Offenders, by Derek Gilna
- Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Stages Media Event to Promote Meatless Meals, by Joe Watson
- Oklahoma Early Release Program Leads to Only Isolated Cases of Recidivism, by Christopher Zoukis
- Oregon: Medical Neglect of Diabetic Detainee Nets $260,000 Settlement, by Mark Wilson
- 11th Circuit Reinstates Suit Filed by BOP Confidential Informant, by Derek Gilna
- New York Prisoner Awarded $2,225 for Denial of Dental Care, by David Reutter
- Association of State Correctional Administrators Study Criticizes Solitary Confinement, by Derek Gilna
- Failure to Protect New York Prisoner Nets $12,500 Award, by David Reutter
- Toxic Traps: Environmental Hazards Threaten Two Federal Supermax Prisons, by Laura Cepero
- Pennsylvania: Settlement Means Better Care for Severely Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Habeas Hints, by Kent Russell
- Pennsylvania Detainee’s Estate Claims Financial Incentive Motive for Denial of Medical Care; $325,000 Settlement, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
- Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Files “Justice is Not for Sale Act”, by Derek Gilna
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Unduly Restrictive Supervised Release Conditions, by Derek Gilna
- Breaking News: Federal Bureau of Prisons to Release 6,000 Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s Bivens Suit against BOP Officials, by Derek Gilna
- Homicidal Prisoner Fails to Derail Oregon Death Penalty Moratorium, by Mark Wilson
- Jails: Time to Wake Up to Mass Incarceration in Your Neighborhood, by James Kilgore
- Utah Sex Offender Prison Population Grows under Harsher Laws while Treatment Programs Lag, by Mark Wilson
- California: Ex-Prisoners on Community Supervision Secure Major Voting Rights Victory, by Lonnie Burton
- New York: $450,000 in Awards to Two Prisoners for Failure to Treat Muscle Tears, by David Reutter
- Prisoner’s Right to Counsel Violated by Eavesdropping on Attorney Phone Calls, by Christopher Zoukis
- Deaf Prisoner Settles Discrimination Suit for $150,000, by Mark Wilson
- PLN Files Censorship Suit against Virginia Jail
- Soldiers Sentenced to Die, but No Executions on Military Death Row Since 1961 , by Joe Watson
- Idaho Prisoner Wins $602,000 Settlement against Corizon, by Derek Gilna
More from Mark Binelli:
- Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison, Oct. 26, 2015
More from these topics:
- 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).
- $500,000 for Colorado Detainee Dropped On His Face by Jailers, June 1, 2025. Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Ninth Circuit Revives Complaint Over Sloppy Cell Checks Before Psychotic Detainee’s Death at L.A. Jail, June 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Kansas Pays $150,000 for Prisoner Killed by Cellmate, Centurion Settlement Confidential, June 1, 2025. Classification, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).