DENVER—The “Supermax” prison in Florence has been mentioned as a possible site to hold suspected terrorists now at Guantanamo Bay, but housing them there could be a logistical headache.
The Denver Post reports that moving the Guantanamo prisoners to the maximum-security prison would mean transferring current prisoners elsewhere, expanding capacity and hiring additional staffers because the prison is already nearly full.
Supermax houses some of the most dangerous prisoners in the world, including Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
Obama has called for the closure of Guantanamo by January.
Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said Wednesday they oppose using Supermax to house Guantanamo inmates.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., said he would support using Supermax for the terrorist suspects if it is “the best facility for the purpose of the country.”
Other sites mentioned by military officials as possible holding locations for Guantanamo inmates include Fort Leavenworth, Kan., the Naval Consolidated Brig near Charleston, S.C., and Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Supermax has about 480 concrete cells, and there was only one empty bed on Thursday, said U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley.
State Rep. Buffie McFadyen, a Democrat whose constituents include Florence residents, told The Denver Post there would need to be additional construction, such as a hardened perimeter, to make the prison more secure. McFadyen also said officials would have to build a separate facility.
“It would have a different mission,” she said.
Representatives of a union for federal correctional officers said the first issue that would have to be resolved is adequate staffing at the facility.
“There’s a whole contingent of issues that have to be well thought out before we ever agreed to bring inmates of that caliber into our system,” said Bryan Lowry, the president of the National Council of Prison Locals.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
