Mich. Town: Send Us the Gitmo Detainees!

(NEWSER) - Obama administration officials are traveling to Michigan today to visit a maximum-security prison that could be used to hold some or all of the 229 terrorism suspects now at Guantanamo Bay, reports the Detroit News. Members of the Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security Departments are all touring the facility. Local politicians are anxious that the prison may close without the influx of new detainees. More»

Inmate's lawyer rips 'cruel, prolonged' solitary confinement

(NEWSER) - A once-secret Guantanamo disciplinary cell block was built for a whopping $700,000, reports the Miami Herald . The existence of "Camp Five-Echo"—intended as a grim punishment section for "uncooperative" detainees—was only confirmed last week, even though it was built by the military in 2007. The 24-unit boxcar-style block walls off prisoners with no view beyond their steel cells. Saudi-born Shaker Aamer, 45, a British resident, has been held there more than 100 days, said his attorney. "In Shaker’s case it’s prolonged solitary confinement. The conditions are cruel,” the lawyer added, noting that his client hasn't been a troublemaker, but is considered too "charismatic" to be housed with other prisoners. More»

Many terrorists serving time at US federal prisons

(NEWSER) - Scores of convicted terrorists are serving time in US prisons that are far from the public eye—and public outcry—of Guantanamo Bay, the New York Times reports. Aggressive prosecutors nailed most of them after 9/11, often with a preemptive strategy that relied on informants to troll for terrorists. Officials found that holding them at US federal prisons was far cheaper than imprisonment at Gitmo. But "there’s a huge national debate about how dangerous these people are,” says a terrorism expert of the 362 convicts currently serving time. "Somebody ought to be studying this.” More»

Pols told to leave office in 3 days or they will be removed

(NEWSER) - The FBI has warned police around the country that there may be violence in the coming days inspired by ominous letters sent by an extremist group. Thirty sitting governors have received letters telling them that if they don’t leave office within 3 days they will be removed, according to an intelligence note, reports the AP . The letters don’t threaten any violence, but the FBI fears others will use their message “as a justification for violence or other criminal acts.” More»

Prison nearly empty, unemployment brutal in rural Thomson

(NEWSER) - A nearly vacant prison in a western Illinois town where unemployment is over 10% will be the new home of as many as 100 current Guantanamo Bay detainees. An announcement of the president's decision to acquire the 8-year-old jail is expected today, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin campaigned hard to bring new inmates to Thomson, near the border with Iowa. More»