# Why is Robert Hanssen (Russian spy) serving his sentence at a supermax prison? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633 "2014-06-25T18:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/1 "2014-06-25T18:44:34Z")
I was reading the Wikipedia article about [Robert Hanssen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen), the former FBI agent turned Russian spy who is serving a life sentence at ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado where he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. I’m wondering what the criteria are in general for sending a felon like Hansson to a high security prison: Hansson is 70 years old and, I would assume, very unlikely to pose a physical threat to correctional officers. He doesn’t appear to be prone to violence. Given his background, one would put him in a category with your run-of-the-mill white-collar criminal who could serve his time at low-security facility. What are the reasons for keeping Hansson under these harsh conditions? Does the government want to punish him really hard for what he did? Are there concerns the Russians might try to contact him again, maybe harm him or even hatch a plot to free him? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/2 "2014-06-25T18:49:20Z")
It sends a very strong message to others… doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/3 "2014-06-25T18:52:10Z")
Perhaps there is concern that he hasn’t told all he knows yet, and those who know what he knows would wish to ensure his silence. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/4 "2014-06-25T18:54:04Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > It sends a very strong message to others… doesn’t it? Oh, I remember this guy. Even pictured him exactly as on his Wikipedia page. I really don’t think that type of risk-assessment really enters into it. When you get into treason/spying, I assume you know that death is a reasonable outcome. And he didn’t even get that. I’m just shocked that he did it for a mere $1.4 million. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/5 "2014-06-25T19:02:03Z")
Did all his spying in Vienna, Virginia - about five miles down the road, and voted Third Best Town to Live in 2013. Seems ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/6 "2014-06-25T19:16:48Z")
This article indicates he was sent there because the prison is good at monitoring communications. [http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,267699,00.html](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,267699,00.html) Which, I guess, is the justification for sending most of the notorious terrorists, spys, traitors, and political prisoners there. Some prisoners there really seem to like it in there, like Woody Harrleson’s dad. Reading books and thinking all day. Others, like Terrible Tom, think it is horrid. Probably because they can’t read. I kind of think all prisons should be like Supermax. Cheaper to run. And avoids the middle school type of culture most prison populations seem to develop. Which just reinforces the shitty behavior they were sent there for. I would think sitting alone in a cell for some years would be more like to change a person. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/7 "2014-06-25T19:24:23Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > This article indicates he was sent there because the prison is good at monitoring communications. > > [http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,267699,00.html](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,267699,00.html) > > Which, I guess, is the justification for sending most of the notorious terrorists, spys, traitors, and political prisoners there. > > Some prisoners there really seem to like it in there, like Woody Harrleson’s dad. Reading books and thinking all day. Others, like Terrible Tom, think it is horrid. Probably because they can’t read. > > I kind of think all prisons should be like Supermax. Cheaper to run. And avoids the middle school type of culture most prison populations seem to develop. Which just reinforces the shitty behavior they were sent there for. I would think sitting alone in a cell for some years would be more like to change a person. This is what I’ve always understood to be the case (that it was to monitor any communication with outside world). He still knows stuff that is a danger to National Security - at least according to the FBI - and doesn’t want someone - say like a Russian agent coming in to get more intelligence - or like the Chinese to come in and get something they never had. Even in recent times - there will be attempts by spies to continue running an espionage operation. See for example: > **[The Spy's Kid: Russians warm to Nathan Nicholson, rewarding son of jailed spy...](https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2011/05/the_spys_kid_part_2_russians_warm_up_to_son_of_spy_hand_him_cash.html)** > > Nathan Nicholson makes contact in San Francisco and receives his first cash payment in Mexico City. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/8 "2014-06-25T23:25:18Z")
He would probably be in danger from run of the mill murderers who don’t take kindly to child molesters and traitors. And cops. FBI are a kind of cop. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/9 "2014-06-25T23:51:31Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > He would probably be in danger from run of the mill murderers who don’t take kindly to child molesters and traitors. And cops. FBI are a kind of cop. This. And if he’s reluctant to co-operate with investigators, considering his current situation, it’s not difficult for them to come up with a carrot to encourage him. And there are probably a few sticks up their sleeves too. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/10 "2014-06-25T23:57:47Z")
If you haven’t seen it already, _[Breach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breach_(film))_ is a pretty good film about the Hanssen case. I question whether SuperMax prisons are any cheaper than ordinary facilities, if anything I think they’d be more expensive. Sitting alone in a cell 23 hours a day certainly does change people though, at [Port Arthur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur,_Tasmania)they had to build a sizeable asylum to house those driven mad by the Silent System. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/11 "2014-06-26T00:00:21Z")
I thought it was to piss off Putin, a reason I can endorse. Pretty much the best reason for pretty much anything short of nuclear warfare. Which he’d probably like, so we can continue to piss off that [out of shape in shape guy from the 50s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brSqr9XJNQc) by not having one. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/12 "2014-06-26T00:06:33Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I question whether SuperMax prisons are any cheaper than ordinary facilities, if anything I think they’d be more expensive. You can probably get away with fewer guards, but the up-front costs are going to be higher if you can’t stick 10 people in one cell. You’d have to build a massive structure to house everyone. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/13 "2014-06-26T00:37:58Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > You can probably get away with fewer guards, but the up-front costs are going to be higher if you can’t stick 10 people in one cell. You’d have to build a massive structure to house everyone. Most prisons also rely on a fair amount of inmate labor to do the routine cooking, cleaning, maintenance, lawn-mowing, trash pick-up, and so on. Supermax prisons have to hire outside workers and pay prevailing wages, which are _slightly_ higher than the 60 cents a day or so an inmate can expect. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/14 "2014-06-26T01:16:15Z")
Super-Max prisons are the most expensive level of security. ---
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/15 "2014-06-26T05:24:23Z")
[QUOTE I would think sitting alone in a cell for some years would be more like to change a person.[/QUOTE] Any psychologist will tell you that solitary confinement is a form of torture and that any decent court would rule it unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/16 "2014-06-26T06:25:46Z")
Torture? A warm private cell with books and TV? Getting stuck in a cell with 20 or so psychopathic idiots seems far worse to me. I would go crazy. Perhaps it is an introvert vs extrovert thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/17 "2014-06-26T07:53:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Any psychologist will tell you that solitary confinement is a form of torture and that any decent court would rule it unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment. And any decent human being would say it’s exactly what the :mad::mad:er deserves. But to get back to the OP, keep in mind that you are dealing with a person who is an expert at espionage and electronics. Dead drops, brush passes, signals, all things he is trained to do. If you allow him to mingle with the general population or have access to prison jobs (library, kitchen, workshops, etc) God only knows who he would/could communicate with. There’s already enough contraband in prisons without dropping an ex-CI agent in the mix, and God help us if he started teaching the other cons how the system works. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/18 "2014-06-26T23:04:51Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > Torture? A warm private cell with books and TV? Getting stuck in a cell with 20 or so psychopathic idiots seems far worse to me. I would go crazy. Perhaps it is an introvert vs extrovert thing. According to [Rory Miller](http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Violence-Comparison-Martial-Training/dp/1594391181), yes it’s an introvert vs extrovert thing. There are people who prefer solitary. And there are plenty of people who are driven mad by it. Cite: I saw a lecture of his. ---
**Author:** ![Zoda8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Zoda8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoda8)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/19 "2019-03-01T21:40:39Z")
Came across this thread after reading about El Chapo. Now there’s a person with $14bn to throw at an escape plan, and multiple previous escapes from maximum security and special force raids. I get that nobody cares about old men like Hanssen because they are traitors, but it does look like they are there for punishment not security. The argument that ‘he might say something’ must fade after decades - the CIA bloke in the next cell is actually going to be released in a few years, and can say what he wants then. I doubt the Russians are looking for 25 year old news. Maybe a normal maximum security prison would be worse, not sure if an old guy like this couldn’t see his days out with the likes of Paul Manafort in a ‘normal’ prison. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633/20 "2019-03-02T05:04:08Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > If you haven’t seen it already, _[Breach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breach_(film))_ is a pretty good film about the Hanssen case. > > I question whether SuperMax prisons are any cheaper than ordinary facilities, if anything I think they’d be more expensive. Sitting alone in a cell 23 hours a day certainly does change people though, at [Port Arthur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur,_Tasmania)they had to build a sizeable asylum to house those driven mad by the Silent System. At Pentridge (melb.aus) jika-jika section prisoners couldn’t be released into the general prison population, which meant you couldn’t put new prisoners in, which partly defeated the purpose of having a supermax section. At the old Long Bay jail (syd.aus), the old supermax-like section turned out psychotic killers. Which was a definite negative. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-robert-hanssen-russian-spy-serving-his-sentence-at-a-supermax-prison/691633.md?page=2)