A Life in Solitary at Colorado’s Supermax is Terrifying

Just off Highway 50 between Pueblo and Salida, Colorado, is a wide stretch of land that is known to be home to numerous prisons. However, the most infamous prison of all, home to the "worst of the worst" criminals in the United States, is a distinction awarded to ADX Florence, commonly known as Supermax.

Read More: See Inside Supermax + Other Notorious Colorado Prisons and Jails |

Supermax is home to a number of terrorists and big-time criminals, the most famous of which is Joaquín Guzmán, better known as El Chapo.

Because of El Chapo's multiple successful escapes from prisons, he now lives in Supermax in solitary confinement, a life that, according to his lawyer, is absolutely miserable.

Keep scrolling to catch a glimpse of what life is like for a prisoner in solitary confinement in Colorado's Supermax:

A former prisoner who spent time in solitary confinement at Supermax described it as follows:

It means you’re in your cell for 23 to 24 hours a day, by yourself. You’re let out for an hour in an underground pit, an underground concrete pit where you can’t see into the distance. If something is bothering you, you can’t talk to anyone, you can’t text anyone, you can’t, you know, shout at anyone, you just have to be alone with your thoughts and toss and turn ‘til the morning.

If inmates exhibit good behavior, they are sometimes allowed to read books and watch a small, black and white TV, but this luxury is rare.

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Inmates are monitored by security cameras 24/7, and some, like El Chapo, are also closely watched by armed guards who, according to the former drug kingpin's lawyer, do not allow the prisoner to sleep.