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95. The applicants obtained a second letter from Human Rights Watch, dated 21 August 2008, which stated that Human Rights Watch considered conditions at ADXviolated the United States' treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United NationsConvention Against Torture. It was unremarkable that "minor adjustments" had been made to the regime but it remained in essence one of "long-term and indefinite incarceration in conditions of extreme social isolation and sensory deprivation".
96. Human Rights Watch's second letter also provided extracts from two United Nations reports from 2006 on supermax detention. In the first, the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated:
"The Committee reiterates its concern that conditions in some maximum security prisons are incompatible with the obligation contained in article 10 (1) of the Covenant to treat detainees with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. It is particularly concerned by the practice in some such institutions to hold detainees in prolonged cellular confinement, and to allow them out-of-cell recreation for only five hours per week, in general conditions of strict regimentation in a depersonalized environment. It is also concerned that such treatment cannot be reconciled with the requirement in article 10 (3) that the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment the essential aim of which shall be the reformation and social rehabilitation of prisoners. It also expresses concern about the reported high numbers of severely mentally ill persons in these prisons, as well as in regular in [sic] U.S. jails.
The State party should scrutinize conditions of detention in prisons, in particular in maximum security prisons, with a view to guaranteeing that persons deprived of their liberty be treated in accordance with the requirements of article ID of the Covenant and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners."
97. The second report was from the United Nations Committee Against Torture, which stated:
"The Committee remains concerned about the extremely harsh regime imposed on detainees in "supermaximumprisons'. The Committee is concerned about the prolonged isolation periods detainees are subjected to, the effectsuch treatment has on their mental health, and that its purpose may be retribution, in which case it would constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 16). The State party should review the regime imposed on detainees in "supermaximum prisons', in particular the practice of prolonged isolation."
For more on ADX Florence, see 60 Minutes, "Supermax: A Clean Version of Hell" and the ADX page at Supermaxed.com.
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