Tamms Correctional Center closed in early 2013. It was once the state’s highest security prison, often referred to as Tamms Supermax. Tamms was a male prison located approximately 360 miles southwest of Chicago.

Nearly all states operate a supermax prison reserved for gang leaders or people who are extraordinarily disruptive and dangerous. Typically they include residents who have attempted to kill staff or other incarcerated individuals, have organized gangs to challenge prison management, or who have proven to be exceptionally destructive. Although conditions vary widely at the nation’s supermax prisons, they are often characterized by years of solitary confinement, sensory deprivation, extremely aggressive security measures and long-term physical and social isolation of inmates. This was the case at Tamms.