This news story suggests that the Federal bureau of prisons is considering relocating a few of the Guantanamo bay prisoners to Thompson Correctional Center in Illinois. Members from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Prisons visited the facility today. Representative Mark Kirk remarked that he felt moving the prisoners to Illinois would make the state "ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization." If the Bureau decides to use the facility, it will house mostly federal prisoners and a few from Guantanamo Bay.
I'd like to ask my readers who are residents of Illinois this question; How do you feel about the possibility of this prison housing previous Guantanamo inmates? If any of you are not Illinois residents, do you think Illinois is a better place, or is there another state you think would make more sense? And, finally, are you saying this because of where you live?
Personally, I don't like the idea of Guantanamo inmates moving to my state, but I'm fairly sure everyone feels that way. What makes a state better or worse for a high-securtity prison? Is it it's resources or facilities, it's proximity to cities, it's population density, or something else? I'm not sure that the location of a prison would particularly sway anyone to attack there rather than somewhere else, but I'm not qualified to know.
How much danger does a prison actually cause to it's location? If that doesn't make sense, let me rephrase; Is a state in greater danger of a terrorist attack if terrorists are held in that state's prisons? Again, I don't think that's something we can figure out on our own, but what do you think?
Also, If you had to pick one state for the prison location, where would it be and why? I tend to think Wyoming or Alaska because of their relative isolation, but I'll bet people from Alaska and Wyoming feel differently. How do you feel about it?
I think this poses a very interesting question. I mean, nobody wants prisoners moved to their state. So who will take them?
ReplyDeleteMy question is, "why not us?" I know no one really wants to take them but what makes our state so pristine that these prisoners would put us in harms way? I understand the point about being a ground for terrorists but then again, how could we possibly put this on another state? If we have the right facilities we're probably the best place for these prisoners.
Do I particularly want the prisoners here? No. But, I don't think Illinois should be prissy about it either.
I read a similar article in the Chicago Tribune. They interviewed some people from Thomson, Illinois and lots of people there want the prisoners from Guantanamo. They need the jobs and already have the facilities.
ReplyDeleteAs far as safety, this prison is a higher security version of a supermax prison in Colorado. No one has ever escaped from that prison so I feel that there is very little risk from the one in Illinois.
I could not agree with kevin more. It seems ridiculous to think that prisoners who couldn't escape from a relatively obselete Gitmo would be able to escape from a maximum security prison.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, this won't be a popular statement, but the "terrorists" were men fighting for (questionable to us) cause. People enjoy calling terrorists "cowards." I don't think that anyone who is willing to die for something that they believe in is a coward. Most people know someone who perished in 9/11; I am no exception. I don't, however, believe we should dehumanize our enemies to the point that being in proximity to them is a harm to us. America has killed mass amounts of civilians multiple times, and I'm willing to bet you live within 150 miles of many people in the US army.
Basically, if you think these people are "dangerous", take a deep look at yourself and your nation, you will find that they were just fighting for a cause that they believed to be just. If you want to see people who are actually a threat to the public, look at "psycopaths," Though I'm not sure if I agree with that term. The kind of people nonw in maximum security prison are mass murderers and rapists. Watch any reality show about prison and you'll know the Illinois can handle these prisoners. If maximum security prisons can handle a man who ate his wife raw, then nonchalantly offered some meat to the cops when they arrived, we can definately handle some militants fighting for their beliefs.
Thanks for commenting everyone! I agree with you all that terrorists, from any location, shouldn't be considered cowards, and that Illinois is capable and probably one of the better states for the job. So, what would you say to convince people who are on the fence?
ReplyDeleteI say that Illinois should not lose another opportunity to make money. Just like Kevin said, the facilities and personnel are all set and ready to go, we just need to bring em' over.
ReplyDeleteTo convince the other people, I should say that the initial starting costs are probably minimal and Illinois should not pass over an opportunity like this, similar to that of the 2016 Olympics. Okay, we lost that one but the point still remains.