9 MOST DIFFICULT PRISON REGIMES IN THE WORLD
this documentary about the Most Difficult Prison Regimes in the World
Number 9 Black Dolphin Near the border with Kazakhstan is one of Russia's oldest and toughest prisons. It's been in use since at least 1745, when it was operated as a hard labor camp. Its current common name is Black Dolphin, derived from a sculpture made by inmates which is found at the front entrance.
This notoriously strict prison is the final destination for many prisoners serving life sentences. It houses hundreds of the country's most dangerous murderers, molesters, terrorists and cannibals. Arriving inmates are blindfolded to prevent them from identifying escape routes.
They're then locked behind a set of three steel doors and are only let out of their cells for an hour and a half every day. During this time, they exercise in a large cage while their cells are inspected. The inmates spend the rest of the day in isolation, with guards checking up on them every 15 minutes.
There's reportedly one strict rule according to which they aren't allowed to rest or sit on their bunks from the time they wake until bedtime, roughly 16 hours. Every command made by their supervising officers must be answered with yes sir. Whenever the inmates are transported through the prison, they're handcuffed behind the back and held in a stress position, meant to give the guards full control while limiting the inmates' view of their surroundings.
Number 8 USP Florence Admax USP Florence is the only supermax prison in the United States and is designed to hold inmates deemed most capable of extreme violence. They include high-profile terrorists, gang lords and serial killers. They're held in single cells for 23 hours per day and supervised round the clock.
The perimeter of USP Florence features pressure pads, a multitude of motion detectors and cameras, in addition to a 12-foot-tall razor-wire fence. It has numerous remote-controlled doors and the entire facility can be locked down at the push of a button. The sinks, desks, stools and beds in the cells are made almost entirely of poured concrete to prevent prisoners from harming themselves.
The 4 inches by 4 feet windows are designed in such a way that inmates never know their exact location in the prison. After a few years of extreme confinement and strictly limited human contact, some may be transferred to a prison with fewer restrictions. According to recent reports, suicide attempts are relatively common at USP Florence and they often succeed.
