Obama administration transferring Guantanamo detainees to Illinois prison | The Hill | 15 Dec 2009
A senior administration official said Tuesday morning that the president "has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) will be in Washington this afternoon to be briefed by White House officials about the decision, the official said.... Once the federal government has acquired the facility, its security will be enhanced beyond federal "supermax" specifications, the letter said. The prison will also house other federal prisoners, but they will not be mixed with the "limited number" of Guantanamo transferees. "Not only will this help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nation's federal prisons, but it will also help achieve our goal of closing the detention center at Guantanamo in a timely, secure and lawful manner," the letter said. Even as Republicans pointed to recently passed law disallowing such a transfer, the letter noted that "the president has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States." "Current law effectively bars the release of Guantanamo detainees on U.S. soil, and the federal government has broad authority under current law to detain individuals during removal proceedings and pending the execution of final removal orders," the letter said.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) will be in Washington this afternoon to be briefed by White House officials about the decision, the official said....
Once the federal government has acquired the facility, its security will be enhanced beyond federal "supermax" specifications, the letter said.
The prison will also house other federal prisoners, but they will not be mixed with the "limited number" of Guantanamo transferees.
"Not only will this help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nation's federal prisons, but it will also help achieve our goal of closing the detention center at Guantanamo in a timely, secure and lawful manner," the letter said.
Even as Republicans pointed to recently passed law disallowing such a transfer, the letter noted that "the president has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States."
"Current law effectively bars the release of Guantanamo detainees on U.S. soil, and the federal government has broad authority under current law to detain individuals during removal proceedings and pending the execution of final removal orders," the letter said.
Fed custody, a perpetual state of transition or suspended animation: Oddly enough, the nuance proposition reminds me of a semantic distinction between ser and estar, not to mention the "is/is" defense. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
oday, the United States Supreme Court refused to review a lower court's dismissal of a case brought by four British former detainees against Donald Rumsfeld and senior military officers for ordering torture and religious abuse at Guantánamo. The British detainees spent more than two years in Guantanamo and were repatriated to the U.K. in 2004. ... Last year, the Supreme Court granted the men's first petition, vacated the Court of Appeals decision and ordered the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its ruling in light of the Supreme Court's historic decision in Boumediene v. Bush, which held that Guantánamo is de facto U.S. territory and that detainees have a Constitutional right to habeas corpus. On remand, the D.C. Circuit reiterated its view that the Constitution does not prohibit torture of detainees at Guantánamo and that detainees still are not "persons" protected from religious abuse. Finally, the Court of Appeals held that, in any event, the government officials involved are immune from liability because the right not to be tortured was not clearly established.
Last year, the Supreme Court granted the men's first petition, vacated the Court of Appeals decision and ordered the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its ruling in light of the Supreme Court's historic decision in Boumediene v. Bush, which held that Guantánamo is de facto U.S. territory and that detainees have a Constitutional right to habeas corpus.
On remand, the D.C. Circuit reiterated its view that the Constitution does not prohibit torture of detainees at Guantánamo and that detainees still are not "persons" protected from religious abuse. Finally, the Court of Appeals held that, in any event, the government officials involved are immune from liability because the right not to be tortured was not clearly established.
the right not to be tortured was not clearly established.
How much more clearly does it need to be? Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Congress committed the lie "enhanced interrogation" so legalizing torture in the MSA. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
