Thomas Silverstein, who served a longer period in solitary confinement than any other inmate in a federal prison, has died, The Denver Post reported. He was 67.
Silverstein, who had been held in solitary for 35 years, died May 11 at a hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, the newspaper reported. He was admitted to the hospital in February, according to Dan Pruett, Jefferson County’s chief deputy coroner.
Silverstein was being held at the United States Penitentiary Administration Maximum Facility -- also known as "Supermax" -- in Florence, Colorado. He had been serving time at the Colorado facility since 2005, the Post reported.
Silverstein was serving three consecutive life terms in connection with the Oct. 22, 1983, slaying of two fellow prisoners and a guard, The New York Times reported. The prison guard, Merle Clutts, was fatally stabbed at the maximum security federal prison in Marion, Illinois, the Post reported.
Silverstein was originally sent to prison in 1975, convicted for armed robbery, the Times reported.
Because there was no federal death penalty at the time, the Bureau of Prisons put Silverstein into indefinite solitary confinement, according to the Post.
Through the years, Silverstein was incarcerated in Marion; Leavenworth, Kansas; Atlanta; and in Colorado, the Post reported.
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