On this day, Oct. 22, in 1983, two correctional officers were killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspired the “Supermax” model of prisons.
Opened in 1963 to replace Alcatraz, Marion became the United States’ highest security prison by 1978. In separate incidents, two prison guards, Merle E. Clutts and Robert L. Hoffman, were killed by members of the Aryan Brotherhood.
Marian went into “permanent lockdown,” keeping inmates in solitary confinement 22 hours a day. The lockdown lasted 23 years and led to the term “Supermax,” short for “Super Maximum Security.”
Marion became home to mobster John Gotti, who was kept in total isolation in a 8-foot by 7-foot underground cell. His cell contained a cot, a basin, a toilet, and a black-and-white TV.
Baseball great Pete Rose was also spent five months there. Rose was not assigned to the Supermax area, but was nearly sent there for signing autographs inside the prison walls.
In 2006, Marion was downgraded to a medium-security facility.
There now is only one Supermax prison in the U.S. federal system, ADX Florence in Colorado.
— Scott McCabe
