Supermax

Supermax is the name used to describe control-unit prisons, the most secure prisons in the US prison system. The term originated in the United States as a contraction of super-maximum, and the concept developed from the permanent lockdown of the Federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois dating from 1983. Since then, some maximum security prisons have gone to full lockdown as well, while others have been purpose-built to the Supermax standard.

Current Supermax Prisons in the United States

• Wallens Ridge State Prison - Big Stone Gap, Virginia
• Red Onion State Prison - Pound, Virginia
• Wisconsin Secure Program Facility - Boscobel, Wisconsin
• USP Florence ADMAX (Administrative Maximum) Facility - Florence, Colorado
• Ohio State Prison - Youngstown, Ohio
• Pelican Bay State Prison - Crescent City, California
• Souza-Baranowski Correctional Facility -- Shirley, Massachusetts
• Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center - Baltimore, Maryland