VOA慢速英语--Drug Lord ‘El Chapo’ Likely to Be Sent to ‘Supermax’ Prison

 

Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman has a record of breaking out of prisons. The head of an illegal drugs organization escaped from two high-security Mexican prisons before being captured and taken to the United States for a trial.

Last week, a U.S. federal court found ‘El Chapo’ guilty of buying, selling and transporting illegal drugs. Since Guzman is likely to receive a life sentence, where will the U.S. imprison¹ someone like him?

Experts say Guzman will likely serve his sentence at the federal government’s “supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado. The prison is also known as “administrative maximum” or ADX. It is so secure and removed from society that it has been called the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.” Alcatraz was a highly secure federal prison on an island off the coast of San Francisco.

ADX is located outside an old mining town about two hours south of Colorado’s capital of Denver. The prison houses the nation’s most violent offenders². Many of its 400 prisoners are held alone for 23 hours a day in 2.1-by-3.7 meter cells. The few objects in the cells are made of concrete.

Cameron Lindsay had run three federal prisons, including the Metropolitan³ Detention⁴ Center in Brooklyn. He said, “I’d be absolutely shocked if he’s not sent to the ADX.”

Prison escapes

In 2015, Guzman escaped from the maximum-security Altiplano prison in central Mexico. In that case, he communicated with helpers outside the prison for weeks using mobile phones. Guzman escaped through an opening beneath his shower. He then rode on the back of a waiting motorcycle through a 1.6 kilometer-long passageway to freedom.

In 2001, Guzman got out of another top-security Mexican prison in a laundry basket.

Mike Vigil is a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. He said that Guzman had to have had help from people working in the prisons in order to escape. He added, “There is no doubt corruption⁵ played a role in both of his spectacular escapes.”

Bob Hood⁶ was a former warden⁷ of ADX Florence. He told the television program Inside Edition, "No one has [escaped] so far, since 1994 when they opened.”

A report by the non-governmental organization Amnesty International found that prisoners at ADX often go days “with only a few words spoken to them.”

Most prisoners at ADX are given a television. But their only view of the outside world is through a 10-centimeter window. The window’s design prevents them from even knowing where they are housed in the prison. There is little contact with other human beings. Prisoners eat all meals in their individual cells, less than one meter from their toilets.

The prison itself is guarded by sharp-edged wire fences, gunmen in tall structures, heavily armed guards and attack dogs.

Burl Cain is a former warden of the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary⁸ at Angola. He said, “If ever there were an escape-proof prison, it’s the facility at Florence. It’s the prison of all prisons.”

Federal officials have not said for certain where El Chapo will be housed. But U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said after last week’s verdict that Guzman faces, in his words, “a sentence from which there is no escape and no return.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

maximum – adj. greatest possible in amount or degree

concrete – n. a hard, strong material that is used for building and made by mixing cement, sand, and broken rocks with water

laundry basket – n. a container made for clothes, towels, sheets, etc. that need to be washed or that have been washed

spectacular – adj. causing wonder and admiration⁹; very impressive

warden – n. an official who is in charge of a prison

facility – n. something such as a building or large piece of equipment that is built for a specific purpose

verdict – n. the decision made by a jury in a trial

1 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

2 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

3 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

7 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

8 penitentiary   

n.感化院；监狱

参考例句：

• He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
• While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候，她的父亲死了，家庭就拆散了。

9 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。