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A Clean Hell: Anarchy and Abolition in America’s Most Notorious Dungeon by Eric King is a searing firsthand account from inside the most repressive prison in the United States, a place built not for rehabilitation but for disappearance.The federal supermax ADX Florence is the most secure facility in the United States, a dungeon of isolation, sensory deprivation, and psychological disintegration. Here, cruelty isn’t accidental; it’s the design. Built in 1995, the “Alcatraz of the Rockies” was made to cage the so-called worst of the worst: bombers, gang leaders, political enemies, and anyone the government deems too rebellious, too inconvenient, or too visible.
Among them was antifascist prisoner Eric King, targeted for his politics, brutally tortured by the Bureau of Prisons, and ultimately entombed at ADX after beating a politically motivated federal prosecution.
A Clean Hell tells the story of Eric’s decade behind bars: the years of surveillance and retaliation, the years locked in solitary confinement, the reality of being known as a “race traitor,” and the daily acts of resistance that kept him—and others—alive.
More than just a firsthand survival story and exposé, this is a blistering indictment of the carceral state and the sanitized violence it tries to hide.
A Clean Hell is a crucial document of solidarity and struggle inside the belly of the beast and required reading for anyone concerned with mass incarceration, political repression, or the inhumane architecture of the US prison system.
List of contents
Foreword by Ray Luc Levasseur
Introduction: It Started with a Joke; or, How I Ended Up at ADX
Prologue: A Brief History of ADX & Supermax Confinement
Chapter 1: Taking the Stand: The Reality of Trial
Chapter 2: The Scariest Ride of My Life
Chapter 3: Nothing But Neglect: Canteen and Medical
Chapter 4: A New Type of Institutionalization
Chapter 4: A New Type of Industrialization
Chapter 5: How Did I Get Here?
Chapter 6: Stolen Moments of Freedom
Chapter 7: The "Worst of the Worst" Who's Actually in the Cage Nextdoor
Chapter 8: When the Fascists Hold the Keys: A Look at the Guards
Chapter 9: Support Saves Lives
Chapter 10: Antifascists and Political Prisoners
Chapter 11: Resistance and Consequences: Standing Up to Repression
Chapter 12: The Control Unit
Chapter 13: Little Guantánamo
Chapter 14: Those Who Stay and Those Who Go
Chapter 15: Before the Devil Knows You're Gone-Walking Out of Hell
Chapter 16: First Breath of Freedom
Chapter 17: When One Door Closes
About the author
Eric King is an anarchist who was imprisoned in 2014 for acts of solidarity with the Ferguson, Missouri, uprising. While in federal custody Eric was indicted for a self-defense incident at FCI-Florence. Eric took it to trial and is one of the absolute few people to ever win at Federal Trial. After his victory Eric was sent to the Federal Supermax, ADX, where he spent most of his final two years of his prison bid. During his time in prison Eric coedited the political prisoner anthology
Rattling the Cages: Oral Histories of North American Political Prisoners. Eric survived years of documented physical and psychological torture and made it out of prison with heart and soul intact. Eric is an activist, antifascist, and loving father and husband. He lives in Denver, CO.
