[Pnews] Additional Federal Funding Requested for Activation of ADX/USP Thomson

[Prisoner News]

    Additional Federal Funding Requested for Activation of
    ADX/USP Thomson
    <http://solitarywatch.com/2014/03/14/opening-adx-thomson-still-pipeline/>

by Lisa Dawson <http://solitarywatch.com/?author=19>

http://solitarywatch.com/2014/03/14/opening-adx-thomson-still-pipeline/

Even as it touts new initiatives to reduce the number of people it holds 
in solitary confinement, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continues 
to quietly make headway on the activation of Thomson Correctional Center 
in northeastern Illinois. If all proceeds as planned, Thomson will 
substantially /increase/ the federal government's capacity to hold 
individuals in extreme isolation --- a fact that no one, these days, 
seems to want to talk about.

Thomson, the unoccupied prison that the federal government bought 
<http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/Thomson-Prison-Sold-to-Federal-Government--172363141.html> from 
the state of Illinois in 2012, was built between 1999 and 2001 but never 
opened. Dubbed early on "Gitmo North 
<http://www.salon.com/2009/12/15/gitmo_3/>," the facility was originally 
viewed by the Obama Administration  as a possible future home 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/us/16gitmo.html?_r=0> for scores of 
terrorism suspects held by the U.S. at Guantánamo Bay military detention 
camp in Cuba.

As Solitary Watch reported 
<http://solitarywatch.com/2013/02/08/feds-to-open-new-supermax-prison-cells-at-gitmo-north/> last 
year,  Thomson is slated to be an "Administrative Maximum U.S. 
Penitentiary" (ADX/USP). Administrative Maximum is a security 
classification currently held only by ADX Florence 
<http://www.ochbergsociety.org/magazine/category/issues/winter-2012-issue/> in 
Colorado, where some 400 people live in 23-hour-a-day solitary 
confinement, in isolation so extreme that it has been challenged in a 
series of lawsuits 
<http://www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2012/06/an-american-gulag-0151-the-mentally-ill-at-supermax/258818/> and 
widely criticized as torture. The joint classification of Thomson as 
ADX/USP means that the a portion of the new prison will also have a 
Maximum Security classification, which will include an SMU, or Special 
Management Unit, where individuals are also held in 23-hour lockdown, 
often with two or three people to a cell.

When asked by Solitary Watch last week for details on the prison's 
design (specifically how many of each ADX and USP cells Thomson will 
contain) and funding, BOP spokesperson Chris Burke responded in an 
email, stating only that:

    Thomson will be a high security prison holding inmates with various
    security needs. It has 1,600 cells and will help to alleviate
    crowding. The BOP is working with the Department of Justice and the
    OMB to develop the FY 2014 Spending Plan. Once complete, the
    Spending Plan will be submitted to Congress for approval. Until
    Congress provides the final approval, we will not be able to share
    the details of the plan.

When asked about the prison last year, Burke was more transparent about 
Thomson's security levels, stating that "Thomson will be a high security 
prison holding inmates with various security needs, including SMU and 
ADX type inmates."

Solitary Watch also asked why the BOP requires new supermax cells 
despite plans to reduce the number of people in solitary, and details on 
what measures were being taken to do so. Burke said that "high security 
facilities are currently 51% over rated capacity."

Burke also stated that "for the past almost two years, the Bureau of 
Prisons (BOP) has focused on carefully reviewing, assessing, and 
refining our approach to restrictive housing to ensure that inmates are 
there for the right reasons and for an appropriate duration." He listed 
a number "initiatives" designed to reduce "restricted housing," 
including new tracking systems, a "secure mental health step down unit," 
a "reintegration unit," and a new "gang-free institution."

Backing the opening of ADX/USP Thomson is the same Sen. Dick Durbin (D, 
IL) who has built a reputation challenging the use of solitary 
confinement in U.S. prisons. In June 2012 he chaired the first-ever 
Congressional hearing 
<http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/congress-looks-solitary-confinement> 
on solitary confinement. Yet that same year, Durbin played a key role in 
the state of Illinois' sale of Thomson 
<http://www.durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=cf8efd1b-9a39-434f-a859-dcf048d853c4> to 
the federal government.

When asked by Solitary Watch about Durbin's support of a new federal 
supermax, spokesperson Max Gleischman did not deny that Thomson would 
include ADX cells. He did not comment on the apparent contradiction in 
Durbin's position, except to say that no one would be "housed in 
segregation unnecessarily." In an email, Gleischman said:

    Senator Durbin opposes the unnecessary use of solitary confinement
    in federal prisons, jails and detention centers and has been working
    to highlight consequences the misuse of solitary has on prisoner
    health and prison safety for years. Thomson prison will be a federal
    maximum security prison and will help elevate massive overcrowding
    within the Federal prison system. Senator Durbin will continue his
    work to ensure that all prisoners, whether in Thomson or elsewhere
    in the Federal system, are treated humanely and that no one is
    housed in segregation unnecessarily.

Durbin also included a brief statement about his position on Thomson 
in his opening remarks at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee's second 
hearing on solitary confinement 
<http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=f00b2bec76ceca7ac77335d8aa01e76a> on 
February 25, 2014. Durbin began by calling solitary confinement "a human 
rights crisis we can't ignore." He also praised BOP director Charles 
Samuels for his efforts to reduce solitary confinement. Nonetheless, 
Durbin said, the "overcrowding crisis in federal prisons" was "one 
reason I'm working to open Thomson Correctional Center as a federal 
prison in my state. I look forward to working with the Bureau of Prisons 
to ensure that Thomson helps to alleviate overcrowding and that all 
prisoners held there are treated appropriately and humanely."

Two days after the hearing,  Durbin was urging President Barack Obama to 
fund the opening of Thomson. Durbin was joined by his protégé U.S. Rep. 
Cheri Bustos (D, IL-17), who represents the district that holds Thomson 
prison. In a letter 
<http://www.scribd.com/doc/209717392/Durbin-Bustos-Letter-to-President-Re-Thomson-Prison> 
dated February 27, 2014, the pair writes:

    We write today to respectfully request that you prioritize the
    activation of Illinois' Thomson Correctional Center in your FY2015
    budget proposal which is expected to be released on March 4, 2014. 
    According to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the full activation of
    this long delayed facility should take two fiscal years (FY 2014 and
    FY 2015) and include about $25 million for construction and other
    related facility upgrades and approximately $170 million for
    staffing and equipment. The first installment of those funds should
    now be available as a result of the Fiscal Year 2014 Consolidated
    Appropriations Act which was passed by Congress and signed into law
    by the President in January.

On Tuesday, March 4, the budget request of the U.S. government for FY 
2015 was released, proposing $8.5 billion for prisons and detention "to 
maintain and secure federal prisons and detention facilities." The 
budget request fact sheet 
<http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2015factsheets/prisons-detention.pdf> is 
vague, offering few specifics on how the money will be spent. It does 
mention funds for "bringing online newly constructed or acquired 
prisons" but avoids naming them.

    The FY 2015 Budget requests a total of $8.5 billion for federal
    prisons and detention. Of this amount, $6.9 billion is requested for
    the BOP and $1.6 billion is for the Federal Prisoner Detention (FPD)
    appropriation. In addition, the FY 2015 Budget proposes to
    rescind $122.0 million in prior year detention balances, which are
    available because the FY 2013 detention population was lower than
    projected. The FY 2015 Budget's Opportunity, Growth, and Security
    Initiative also includes resources for the BOP for infrastructure
    and personnel to continue the process of bringing on-line newly
    completed or acquired prisons and thereby reduce prison overcrowding.

This breakdown is particularly obscure in comparison to the details 
contained in the FY 2014 budget request 
<http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2014factsheets/prisons-detention.pdf>, which 
specifically references ADX/USP Thomson:

    ADX USP Thomson, IL: $58.7 million and 1,158 positions (749
    correctional officers) $15 million to renovate the Thomson
    Correctional Center for high security federal prison use. $43.7
    million to begin activating ADX USP Thomson (2,100 beds) as
    an administrative-maximum high security facility. ADX USP Thomson is
    expected to reduce crowding in high security facilities from 59
    percent by 43 percent by the end of FY 2015. There are no current
    services for this initiative.

Despite the new-found reluctance to provide details on Thomson's 
security level, there is nothing to indicate that the BOP's plans to 
open additional supermax cells at the new prison have changed. Nor does 
the BOP appear to have any doubts that it will obtain the required 
funding. When asked if there is a scheduled opening date for 
the Thomson, spokesperson Chris Burke said: "When funding is provided, 
it will take about 2 to 3 years to ramp up to full activation of the 
facility."

-- 
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863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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