SOME of the United States' most notorious criminals have begun moving into a new US$750 million residence in the foothills of the majestic Rocky Mountains. The first 40 arrived a month ago, in shackles and chains - and if they were hoping to enjoy the view of the picturesque hills rising over the quiet little town of Florence, Colorado, they were sorely disappointed.
Their new home is a hi-tech Federal prison known as Supermax, short for super maximum security.
The Administrative Maximum Facility of the Florence Correctional Institution, to give it its full name, is the first prison custom-built to house the nation's toughest convicts, using a regime of isolation and 'behaviour modification' to control its violent and escape-prone inmates.
'There's not a doubt we have a severe programme here,' says associate warden John Vanyur. 'This facility is one of a kind.' If a man doesn't like his own company, he is in big trouble at Supermax. Most new prisoners will be kept in individual cells 23 hours a day - and then prevented from meeting other inmates during an hour of solitary exercise in a small enclosed corridor.
Prisoners can qualify for a few extra hours out of their cells and some group interaction after demonstrating what the prison handbook calls 'positive institution adjustment'.
The guiding philosophy is to break an inmate psychologically by subjecting him to the strictest rules of any modern American prison.
Prisoners' rights groups say this kind of sensory deprivation is a form of mental torture, but they have had a hard time rousing much sympathy in the crime-plagued USA. The warders' futuristic zeal reflects the country's growing anger at criminals.