According to the
Department of Corrections, inmates will be sent to Supermax for their actions
behind bars - "because they are very assaultive toward staff and/or other
inmates, gang leaders, very high escape risks, major organizers of a security
threat, and high- profile individuals with outside ties which jeopardize
(prison) security." This quote was obtained from a Capitol Times newspaper
article dated February 1999 - eight months before Supermax housed its first
inmate. Their expectations are not reflected by the reality of the prison
almost two years later.
"Mental Death
Row"
Today Supermax holds 334
inmates. Many who are non-violent
offenders and some as young as sixteen years old.
Supermax is a
maximum-security prison located just outside Boscobel in Southwestern
Wisconsin. It has a capacity of
509 inmates, 180 security staff, 72 non-security staff and an annual operating
budget of $9,537,604.
Inmates in the most
restrictive level are warehoused in cells that are 6 x 12 feet concrete slabs
with a concrete bed, toilet and shower.
The lights remain on 24 hours a day - there is no direct sunlight. Inmates are confined to their cells for
24 hours a day with only 3-4 hours out of their cell per week. Recreation
consists of walking in a circle in a bare concrete room, which is the same
temperature as outdoors. There is no direct contact with any other human -
visits are conducted through a closed circuit television. One inmate described the situation as
"Mental death row".
Who asked for it anyway?
In 1996, then Governor,
Tommy Thompson was one of the first public officials to publicly push for the
construction of a Supermax prison in Wisconsin. The idea appears to stem from a politicians "get tough
on crime at any cost" mentality.
To date no one from the Department of Corrections (DOC) can identify a
member of their department that advocated for Supermax. Indeed many within the department wanted
the additional funding to be spent elsewhere within the prison system. The
"political" prevailed and in November of 1999 Supermax opened its
doors to its first inmates.
Firsthand Knowledge:
On Thursday June 7th I
visited the Supermax Prison, less than one week after the DOC refused entry to
Amnesty International siting their belief that legislative oversight was
sufficient. At the conclusion of
the tour it was clear to me that we need a legislative review of the facility,
additional staffing for programming and a ban on juveniles being placed there.
The original focus of
Supermax - reforming the 'worst of the worst' – seems to be lost or at
least misguided compared to what I saw at the facility. Given the living conditions and limited
staffing for programming, instead of rehabilitating inmates it seems to have
the effect of "dehabilitating" them. Legislative oversight is necessary to see that the facility
meets the goals of the State of Wisconsin and to ensure that there is adequate
staffing for education, psychiatric care, social work and more.
After the visit it was
abundantly clear to me that Supermax had more to do with politics than it did
policy. Now that the facility is built, a more pragmatic and humane approach
must be made.
Toward an humane
environment:
Our first priority must
be making the facility humane, safe and ensure it truly addresses the
corrections needs of the state
Issues in need of
immediate attention are:
- Extremely
small (6'x12') cells in some sections of Supermax all without access to
sunlight or outside conditions
- Limited
humane conditions including access to books, psychological care, educational
programming and social work needs
- Impersonal
visits through video cameras
- 24
hours-a-day lights on policy
- 23/24
hours per day in isolation, with only 4 hours per week granted out of cell
- Placement
of non-violent offenders at Supermax, against the facility's promise
- Insufficient
resources to deal with inmates with mental illness and related conditions
- Juveniles
being placed at the facility
The most restrictive
levels of programming at Supermax resemble a kennel more than they do a prison.
How can we treat people like animals and not expect to put animals back into
society?
As of the end of July
there are three inmates under the age of eighteen at Supermax. To date there have been eight minors;
two of them entered at the age of Sixteen, housed at Supermax. Taking a youth
with a problematic background and placing him with the 'worst of the worst' can
only have a negative effect. Many of these juveniles have emotional or mental
health issues. That's the care they need not severe isolation and lack of programming.
A provision to ban
juveniles from Supermax was included in the state budget. At the time of this writing we are
awaiting the governor's signature.
If the governor chooses to veto the item I am prepared to introduce
bi-partisan legislation banning the placement of juveniles at Supermax.
My bottom line is
protecting the public in Wisconsin and treating our inmates humanely. We only jeopardize everyone in
Wisconsin when we harden non-violent offenders by treating them like
animals. That is not in anyone's
best interest.
I will continue to push
for a legislative review of the current conditions and future planning for the
facility, fight to ban juveniles from being placed there and for implementation
of programs including psychiatric care, education, job training and sufficient staff to meet the
needs of the inmate and the greater community.
As always, you can reach
me at (phone) 266-8570, (e-mail) mailto:mark.pocan@legis.state.wi.us
or you may write to P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708.
-Mark
Pocan