ABSTRACT
The supermax imprisonment movement proliferated in the United States from roughly 1980 to 2010 and continues to the present, albeit amidst increasing concerns over human rights violations and the financial costs of mass incarceration. Conceptually, supermax imprisonment represents a wide-scale extension of traditional administrative segregation, initially developing traction in the federal prison system in the 1970s and subsequently becoming a prototype for confining select prisoners under ultra-secure and restrictive conditions for varying periods. Enabled through deferential appellate court precedent, the effects associated with supermax conditions and practices have been problematic at best; these include deleterious impacts on mental and physical well-being, questionable impacts on prison order and violence, and negative outcomes following release. Despite evidence of such effects and growing calls to reform or abolish this style of incarceration, the prospects for doing so are limited both by conveniences afforded and symbolic appeals of extremist punishments.
