I decided to compare three extreme, intense prisons to see how other countries handle the worst of the worst. Here, I compare a prison in Russia, the famous Guantanamo Bay, and a supermax in America. Enjoy!
Black Dolphin is one of Russia’s most notorious prisons. It’s near the border of Kazakhstan, and it houses 700 of the most brutal prisoners, each of whom murdered an average of 5 people. The Black dolphin is supremely isolated place, where cells are within cells and behind three sets of steel doors. Inmates never see the sky, even in the exercise yard, and rarely see or talk to any prisoners besides their cell mates. Inmates are filmed in the cells at all hours, and guards checked on them every 15 minutes. Nikolai Astankov, a prisoner at the Black Dolphin, said, “If you constantly think about how you are here, what is waiting for you, that you won’t ever get free, that you are left here alone, you simply won’t make it” (Youtube). What I found most fascinating, though disturbing, about the way Black Dolphin is run is the way prisoners are transported. Whenever inmates leave their cells, they are led to their destination with their hands handcuffed behind their back and forced to walk bent over at the waist in a very submissive position that is “believed to be unique to Black Dolphin (Youtube), and the inmates are blindfolded whenever they are transported between buildings so that they can’t memorize the layout of the prison. One inmate said, “Black Dolphin is a final destination. You can’t go any further” (Youtube) and I think this sums up the dreary, omniscient vibe of the infamous Russian Prison.
From infamousy to controversy, we travel to Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay is an American military base that happens to contain “the world’s most controversial prison” (Rayment). It holds about 150 inmates from 21 countries. None of them have gone through a trial, half of them are cleared for release but haven’t left yet, and all of them are just sort of stuck there because the legal system has kind of jammed up in their cases-- a sort of “legal limbo” (Rayment). The prison is made of ten mini ‘camps,’ some of which are denied to even exist. The guards, who maintain a certain level of secrecy, are quick to say that Gitmo, as it’s called in the military, is not a rehabilitation center but that those “[I]nmates who renounce extremism” (Rayment) are helped out if possible. Guantanamo Bay houses largely Muslim terrorists and other dangerous men, and many of them are distrubingly extreme in their beliefs. Prisoners in Gitmo are allowed to have a copy of the Koran and a few magazines, and compliant inmates are allowed to sit in lounges, eat together, and watch TV when they’re not in their cells for 22 hours of the day. Those 22 hours are spent in a tiny, concrete room, with a steel door that has spy hole and a slit of bullet proof, armoured glass for a window. Compliant inmates are in the minority at Gitmo, and “the threat of attack in the camps is constant and assaults are frequent” (Rayment). Prisoners throw waste, urine, vomit, and blood at gaurds, and violence and rebellion is common. These “prisoners without hope” (Rayment) are among the world’s worst men, and are stuck in a place awaiting their fate.
The fates of the prisoners at ADX Florence have been decided, however. The supermax prison in Colorado is one of America’s-- and the world’s-- most secure prisons. It houses almost 500 terrorists, neo-Nazis, gang leaders and members, and other dangerous criminals who are usually transferred to ADX Florence because they killed inmates or guards in their previous prison location. For 23 hours a day, inmates sit in their 7ft x 12ft cell with all furniture poured and cast from concrete. The one hour they spend outside of their cells is used for exercise either outside or inside in a windowless hall that is basically an empty swimming pool. Life inside the prison isn’t all bleak: prisoners can watch black and white televisions, read a copy of USA Today with certain articles cut out, and earn extra privileges for good behavior.