A triple murderer has died after being held in solitary confinement for a record 35 years for ambushing and stabbing a prison guard to death.

Thomas Silverstein, a member of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, was kept alone in a specially designed and soundproof cell – with the lights on 24 hours a day – longer than any other federal prisoner in the US.

The 67-year-old – known as "Terrible Tommy" – had a security status of "no human contact" and was serving a life sentence with no chance of parole at the ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

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.

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.

He was considered one of the most violent men ever held in US federal custody, the Mercury News reported.

In solitary confinement, he was kept in a cell with the lights on 24 hours a day and was not allowed to have contact with other people.

Severe restrictions limited his use of a phone and what he could talk about. He was allowed to write letters from ADX Florence, known known as the "Alcatraz of the Rockies".

Originally from Long Beach, California, Silverstein was also convicted of murdering two inmates in prison, and was in jail for life without parole.

In 1980, he was convicted of killing Danny Atwell in a dispute over heroin inside a high security prison in Marion, Illinois.

The conviction was overturned five years later because jailhouse informants had perjured themselves on the stand.

While he was serving that sentence he was convicted of murdering inmate Robert Chappelle, a DC Blacks prison gang member, in 1981.

During his trial for Chappelle's murder Silverstein fatally stabbed Raymond “Cadillac” Smith, the DC Blacks prison gang leader, and dragged his body in front of other inmates while shouting taunts.

In 1983, Silverstein killed Mr Clutts at the same Illinois prison after another inmate handed him a shank and unlocked his handcuffs with a homemade key.

Mr Clutts, who was escorting Silverstein to the shower, was stabbed dozens of times.

Hours later, fellow Aryan Brotherhood member and inmate Clayton Fountain used the same technique to kill prison guard Robert Hoffmann.

The prison was placed in indefinite lockdown and Silverstein was moved to a prison in Atlanta, where he was placed in solitary confinement for the rest of his life with a security status of "no human contact".

Silverstein was held in a number of federal prisoners over the years.

At a facility in Leavenworth, Kansas, his cell – where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day – was known as “The Silverstein Suite", the Denver Post reported.

The murders of Mr Clutts and Mr Hoffman inspired the design of the ADX supermax prison where Silverstein and Gometz were both held.

It is considered America's most secure prison after Guantanamo Bay.

Silverstein had been held at the ADX prison since 2005.

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