Pete Earley, a journalist who once interviewed Silverstein, said: "Silversteins actions were responsible for ushering in a new era in modern-day corrections.". After Silverstein and another prisoner, Clayton Fountain, stabbed Smith over 60 times, they dragged his body around the unit as a message to other prisoners. Mr. Silverstein had been transferred to the hospital in recent weeks from a super-maximum prison in Florence, Colo., which the federal Bureau of Prisons opened in 1994 to house terrorists, serial killers, drug lords and others considered incorrigible. At the age of 19, he was arrested for armed robbery but sentenced to life in prison for murdering an inmate. Thomas Silverstein in January in a super-maximum prison in Florence, Colo. In prison, he developed a reputation as a dangerous and lethal killer, and eventually was put in solitary confinement at a high-security prison for 32 years after killing a Correction Officer. Who Was D.B. Here are some of the most dangerous prisoners in the world. Mr. Silverstein and Mr. Fountain got to Mr. Smith first, stabbing him 67 times with makeshift weapons, then dragging his body along prison catwalks as an object lesson. One of these famous violent prisoners is Thomas Silverstein. He spent more than half his life in solitary confinement after killing a guard and two fellow inmates. criminal human rights jail Odd prison Thomas Silverstein. Senator Openly Discusses His Depression Courageous Candor That Challenges Stigma, Nathaniel Ayers of Soloist Fame & Forced Medication. Updated February 15, 2022 Thomas Silverstein was convicted of four brutal murders, all while serving time for armed robbery then spent the last 36 years of his life in solitary confinement. While Smith planned to avenge Chappelle, Silverstein and Fountain took the chance and stabbed him 67 times before killing him. After Clutts died, Silverstein claimed the guard had been harassing him. Once, he remembered, his mother threw bricks through the front window of a local bullys home after the boys father had incited another fight between his son and Tommy. Silverstein was bullied as a child and was raised to respond in kind. UK's most dangerous prisoner nicknamed Hannibal will die in underground glass box, 'I was abused by a sex gang at 5 years old - men have no voice to speak out', Incredible moment hero husband tackles massive and out-of-control German Shepherd to the ground after it mauls his wife in terrifying attack - as owner calmly walks off, Man, 49, who got trapped in adventure centre indoor cave dies of his injuries, Olympic hero Sir Steve Redgrave's harrowing health battle as he breaks silence on diagnosis, Six heartbreaking signs that someone you love is months - or even days - away from dying, Young Leeds fan's father responds after players' conduct in viral video heavily criticised, KING GRANDPA! Mr. Silverstein took up art while in prison, teaching himself and becoming accomplished at it. Silverstein was arrested in 1971 along with his cousin and Thomas Conway for committing armed robberies to finance his habit. 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Using it, Mr. Silverstein managed to unlock his handcuffs and then fatally stabbed Merle E. Clutts, an unarmed correction officer, about 40 times. Thomas Silverstein was an explosively violent, lifelong convict who murdered four people while imprisoned. In 1977, Silverstein was sentenced to fifteen years for armed robbery, to be served at United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He was in prison since 1977 after being convicted of four separate murders while imprisoned, one of which was overturned. For The Murder Victims In The Movie & Book Just Mercy, Justice Remains Denied. As a direct result of Silversteins murders, officials began designing the federal supermax prison at this point. He was 67. Upon release, Silverstein began using heroin. ), In 1981, Mr. Silverstein and another inmate, Clayton Fountain, were convicted of murdering Robert Chappelle, a member of the D.C. In 1980, he was convicted of killing Danny Atwell in a dispute over heroin inside a high security prison in Marion, Illinois. [11] BOP (Bureau Of Prisons) confiscates art work when it depicts murder. That conviction was later overturned due to perjury by informants who had testified against him; however, in the meantime he was convicted of killing Robert Chappelle, a black gang member, at Marion in 1981, and received another life sentence. She stood her mud. "[4], Silverstein died on May 11, 2019, aged 67, at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, after spending 36 years in solitary confinement; he died due to complications from heart surgery. [2] The conviction was overturned in 1985 after it emerged that the jailhouse informants who testified at his trial had perjured themselves on the stand. Eventually, Silverstein came to regret murdering Clutts and strove to avoid conflicts with prison staff. His conviction was overturned in 1985 when reports surfaced that prosecutorial witnesses had perjured themselves. The minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, constantly drip away with no end or relief in sight.. He was arrested for armed robbery at 19 but sentenced to life for murdering an inmate. Tommy Silverstein, as he was now known, was often bullied in the working-class neighborhood where he grew up, in part because schoolmates mistakenly thought he was Jewish. Silverstein is now 66 years old and his earliest theoretical date of release is November 2, 2095. He was 67. Silverstein became ill after heart surgery after 36 years in solitary confinement. The American Civil Liberties Union has cited his case in its campaign against long-term solitary confinement. He was transferred out of USP Marion, which was placed in an indefinite lockdown, and moved to the Atlanta Prison. I didnt come in here a killer, but in here you learn to hate, he said during an interview with reporter Paul Earley. Silverstein was born in Long Beach, California, to Virginia Conway. Whoever has lived the longest in isolation appears to be in dispute, but there are a few people who stayed there for more than 40 years without having much interaction with others. In 2005, he was transferred to Florence, Colorado. Spotting a bully named Gary walking home from school, Silversteins mother dragged him to her backyard and forced her son to beat him. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Conway became enraged and drove over there, throwing bricks through the window, teaching her son that two wrongs made a right. I didnt come in here a killer, but in here you learn to hate, he told Mr. Earley in 1992. Silverstein, who spent most of his life behind bars, died of complications from a heart condition on May 11 after he was transferred from ADX to a hospital in Lakewood, Colorado. Prison officials would not comment on the length of his term in solitary. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Even though we may not execute people by the masses, as they do in other countries, our government leaders bury people alive for life in cement tombs, he was quoted as saying. During a later imprisonment, at Leavenworth, he was convicted of murdering Danny Atwell, a fellow inmate who had refused to transport heroin within the prison. 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The light in his suite was never turned off so cameras could monitor his movements 24 hours a day. In his later years, Silverstein expressed regret for his fatal assault on a corrections officer. The gangs leader Raymond Cadillac Smith was soon transferred to Marion during Silversteins trial. Mr. Silverstein was said to have joined the Aryan Brotherhood, the white nationalist prison gang, while serving time at Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas. Bureau of Prisons officials were reportedly afraid that Silverstein would begin killing correctional officers held hostage by the Cubans. "When an inmate kills a guard, he must be punished," a Bureau of Prisons official told author Pete Earley. (CNN) -- Tommy Silverstein has been held in solitary confinement for the past 27 years, longer than anyone else in the federal prison system, his lawyers say. He was considered one of the most violent men ever held in US federal custody, the Mercury News reported. She divorced again in 1956 to marry Sid Silverstein. Just hours later, an accomplice of Silverstein, Clayton Fountain, stabbed guard Robert Hoffman to death using exactly the same method. Silverstein states, "That's how my mom was. In 1980, Silverstein was convicted of murdering fellow inmate Danny Atwell, who had reportedly refused to act as a drug mule for the gang. Silverstein killed again on October 22, 1983, after receiving two new life sentences. Silverstein claimed Clutts began harassing him. Its almost more humane to kill someone immediately than it is to intentionally bury a man alive, he said. A prison official who asked not to be named said Cubans who took over the penitentiary Monday freed Silverstein and the killer has been in touch with federal negotiators, The Atlanta. He was placed on indefinite lockdown after killing another person and then stabbing a guard to death, and he spent 36 years in a soundproof cell with no lights turned off. 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Silverstein joined the Aryan Brotherhood gang in Leavenworth for protection. Originally from Long Beach, California, Silverstein was also convicted of murdering two inmates in prison, and was in jail for life without parole. Incarcerated continuously since 1975, originally on an armed robbery conviction, he had been in solitary confinement for 36 years, longer than any other federal inmate, according to those who study American correction systems. Fountain died in 2004 at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. For The Murder Victims In The Movie & Book Just Mercy, Justice Remains Denied. It is considered America's most secure prison after Guantanamo Bay. He started his criminal career with armed robberies during the 1970s and killed several prison inmates in the 1980s. I took one look at my mom and her black belt and I took one look at Gary, and there wasnt any choice at all, recalled Silverstein. There has to be some supreme punishment. Mr. Silverstein in a police photograph taken in 1975 after an arrest for armed robbery. 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Considered one of America's most dangerous prisoners, he had been in isolation since he used a shank to repeatedly stab and kill prison officer Merle Clutts during an ambush. Violently bullied as a child, Silverstein was raised to respond in kind. During the 1987 Atlanta Prison Riots, Cuban detainees at the Atlanta federal penitentiary released Silverstein from his isolation cell. Nonetheless, he remained in his concrete box at ADX. His death, at St. Anthonys Hospital, southwest of Denver, was caused by complications of heart surgery, his wife, Renee Silverstein, said. While he was serving that sentence he was convicted of murdering inmate Robert Chappelle, a DC Blacks prison gang member, in 1981. U.S. USP Marion was subsequently placed on an indefinite lockdown, which ultimately lasted for 23 years. (When the guard would handcuff Silverstein he would make it a point to ask Silverstein if his handcuffs were too tight.) Sadly, they may be right. He stabbed corrections officer Merle E. Clutts to death with a homemade key after allegedly bullying him and destroying his artwork. He doesnt have access to a computer, but he has friends who correspond with him and post his replies. Linda Bishop Described Her Own Death From Mental Illness A Decade Ago: Whats Changed? A couple of weeks ago it was CNN Writer/Producer Stephanie Chen seeking an interview. Silverstein was denied visitation and remained in his cell, located in the Special Housing Unit, until he was moved to ADX in July 2005, where he was placed in the most restrictive form of housing at that facility. Something went wrong, please try again later. All the while, his own mental state improved, he said. When prisoner Thomas Silverstein died at the age of 67 in a Colorado hospital, it marked the end of one of the longest stays in solitary confinement ever in the USA. Silversteins actions were responsible for ushering in a new era in modern-day corrections, said Pete Earley, a former Washington Post reporter who interviewed him for his book The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison (1992). [4] Many prison guards refused to talk to Silverstein out of respect for Clutts.[5]. He apologized to Clutts family in 2011. After he was dead, the pair barbarically dragged his body up and down prison corridors to show to other inmates. Virginia Silverstein demanded that her son fight back, telling the boy that if he ever came home again crying because he had been beaten up by a bully, she would be waiting to give him another beating. Silverstein was born in Brooklyn, New York.He attended Boys High School and graduated from the Pratt Institute with a degree in fine arts. On October 22, 1983, the killer was let out of his cell at Marion supermax prison for a shower and managed to get Clutts to walk ahead of him. Silverstein and another inmate, Clayton Fountain, had already murdered Robert Chappelle of the D.C. He was in prison since 1977 after being convicted of four separate murders while imprisoned, one of which was overturned. Thomas Silverstein, a triple murderer who spent decades in solitary confinement in federal prison, died at a Colorado hospital this month, officials said Wednesday.