Despite intial resistance to our on-site investigation, in May and June 1995, we finally toured Supermax with consultants in the fields of medical care, mental health care, and general penological issues. Unfortunately, our investigation continued to be met with resistance, causing one of our consultants to note that the tour was unique in terms of its adversarial and confrontational nature. Based on our investigation, we believe that certain conditions at Supermax violate the constitutional rights of the inmates. The facts and law supporting our determination of constitutional violations are set forth below. The following factual summary is derived from the reports of our consultants, inspections of the prison, interviews with inmates, and the documents provided by the facility.
Inmates eat all of their meals in their cells.
Food trays are passed through a narrow food port in a cell door, solid except for a vision window. Inmates are not allowed to participate in any prison job opportunities or any other prison recreational or educational programs. No recreational equipment is provided. Inmates in adjoining cells can hear but not see each other. Although Supermax has a capacity of 288, in June 1995, the census was only 205.