The Death of Thomas Silverstein

In 1983, Thomas Silverstein stabbed a guard to death in Marion penitentiary. He was placed in solitary confinement and told he could not have any human contact with other inmates due to his threat to correctional officers. This prompted the Department of Corrections to create super maximum security prisons across the U.S. The Florence prison that would become known as 'Supermax' is based on this design.