Why some aging spies won't walk out of U.S. prisons, long after the Cold War
Thirty years after the arrest of Aldrich Ames, the double agent remains in a U.S. prison. Analysts say the fallout from such stinging betrayals can jeopardize national security and put lives at risk — all factors that play into determining why some spies, like Ames, remain locked up indefinitely.
![Why some aging spies won't walk out of U.S. prisons, long after the Cold War](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7100448.1706722669!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/aldrich-ames-leaves-a-u-s-federal-courthouse-in-february-1994.jpg)
![Former senior Central Intelligence Agency office Aldrich Hazen Ames is led from U.S. Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, 22 February 1994, after being arraigned on charges of spying for the former Soviet Union. Ames' wife, Mari del Rosario Casas Ames, was also arraigned on the same charges. Ames and his wife were charged with spying for the former Soviet Union since 1985 and receiving more than 1.5 million USD. Aldrich Ames is seen leaving a U.S. federal courthouse in Alexandra, Va., after being arraigned on spying-related charges on Feb. 22, 1994.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7100448.1706722669!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/aldrich-ames-leaves-a-u-s-federal-courthouse-in-february-1994.jpg)
Thirty years after the arrest of Aldrich Ames, the double agent remains in a U.S. prison. Analysts say the fallout from such stinging betrayals can jeopardize national security and put lives at risk — all factors that play into determining why some spies, like Ames, remain locked up indefinitely.