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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 …
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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:
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Washington DOC Barred from Putting Prisoners on Lockdown and Calling It “Programming”, Sept. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Liberty Interests, Notice of Rules, Lockdowns, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County, Sept. 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, State Legislation.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Court Shuts Down Arizona Attempt to Fill Medical Staff Vacancies with Under-Qualified Providers, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026. Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency Hearing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.