To give you an idea of why a previously sane person would lapse into madness at ADX, you need look no further than the circumstances of their confinement.
ADX was designed to ensure the total isolation of all its prisoners, who are held in cells about the size of an average toilet.
The cells have thick, concrete soundproof walls, a door with bars and a second door made of solid steel. The only possible means of communicating with other humans is to yell into the toilet bowl and hope that someone may hear.
The inmates are kept in their cell 24/7 for two days each week. On the other five days, they may get to spend approximately one hour in a similarly-sized cage for what is laughingly referred to as "outdoor" recreation.
By its own policy, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) excludes the mentally ill from ADX, but it seems that many prisoners with mental illness end up there because of a deficient screening process – and more still who were sane upon arrival tend not to remain so for long.
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