Based on the stories about the BTK case its probable that Dennis Rader is probably fairly conformist when it comes to following authoritarian environments, and in fact has been (apparently) a model prisoner to date.
According to this story he is in his cell 23 hours per day. Is this because of some genuine fear that he will assault other prisoners, that other prisoners will assault him, or simply to punish him for his crimes? What determines the level of lock-down a prisoner receives?
By watching a number of those MSNBC Investigates specials on prisons, it seems standard that violent and life term criminals are kept in their cell for the majority of the day. People who murder are probably thought to be more of a risk than someone that stole some TVs from a store.
This doesn’t exactly apply to him, but there are several prisons in both the federal and state prison systems built on the “supermax” model.. In these types of prison, the standard is being locked in a cell 23 hours a day with the other hour used for independent showering, and recreation (being let into an outdoor cell with a sky view). The federal supermaxes never allow any contact between prisoners and meals are served through secure door trays.
Many people in Supermax prisons have harmed or killed staff at regular maximum security measures or engaged in gang-like activity but it also used for the heinous but quiet types for extreme punishment. Both Timothy McVeigh (executed) and the Unibomber (current prisoner) are notable supermax inmates.
It sounds like our good citizen BTK is being treated as a supermax type prisoner a lot of the time even though he isn’t in that type of prison. If he was, that would be it for life and he couldn’t get any other frills. I assume that his crimes were state crimes (Kansas) and they don’t have their own Supermax prison so they try to improvise with a person they hat this much (conjecture).
Eh, my guess is the ol’ “even violent murdering convicts have families” principle, and they keep him locked up because he would end up like Jeffrey Dahmer, who was beaten to death with a dumbbell bar, in general population.
That sort of punishment is used for both prisoners who are a danger and prisoners who have committed heinous crimes or are notorious.
It’s not new. Al Capone, though a model prisoner in Atlanta, was in the second intake at Alcatraz due to his notoriety.
That sort of punishment is used for both prisoners who are a danger and prisoners who have committed heinous crimes or are notorious.
It’s not new. Al Capone, though a model prisoner in Atlanta and only convicted of tax evasion, was in the second intake at Alcatraz due to his notoriety.
Yeah. That’d be a shame of a thing to happen eh?
Well, yes, if you want to be able to claim you live in a civilized society.
There are some prisons that have this as the norm. The warden of McAlester prison in Oklahoma said that most of the prisoners like it. No gangs to worry about, no old men prisoners worrying about the young turks, no pretty boys being made into somebody’s plaything.
I don’t know if I believe him or not.
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I would suspect that Rader has more to fear from other prisoners than they do from him. His noteriety alone would make him a target.
Is this the Supermax treatment I’ve read about, where the inmate has no personal possessions, is given no furniture other than padding in the cell, and is kept in restraints when not on his hour break? And they wear full body armor for the extraction, assuming the worst in each case?
I really hope I misunderstand, because there’s no hope at all in that scenario for the prisoner. Better to be dead.
I don’t believe him. In my institution, the guys can’t wait to get out of seg, and have more privileges and physical movement and human interactions.