7 Weird Things ONLY Inmates at Supermax Federal Prisons Can Understand

Let’s face it: we’re not your average incarcerees. We’re doing life in the belly of the beast: ADX Florence. We’re high-risk, high-profile, and highly prone to homicidal rage. Sure, there’s some other people––like the District Attorney for the State of Arizona––who get that too. But here are 8 things ONLY us Supermax Citizens can understand:

1. That feeling during your daily cavity search when the new guy yanks his arm out WAY too quickly. Yowzers!

2. That moment when you’re ALMOST done with your shower, but the warden cuts off the water JUST before you’ve consumed enough fluid to die of water intoxication.

3. The stiff-neck you get from sleeping on a solid block of concrete every night with no blanket or pillow (because fabrics can be used to suffocate fellow inmates).

4. That downright filthy taste of drinking from your combination toilet, sink, and water fountain.

5. When you stare out of your 4-inch window at night and can just barely discern the faint, ephemeral glimmer of a distant star.

6. That pang of regret when you realize you could’ve done a WHOLE lot more on the outside if you knew you’d end up here anyway.

7. The realization that if anything, this a cleaner, quieter version of the hell that awaits you.